Police respond to council leader's 'rape cover-up' claim

Chief Constable Alex Franklin-Smith said the force's priority was to support the victim

Warwickshire Police has responded to a claim it held back information over the alleged rape of a 12-year-old girl in Nuneaton, saying officers "did not and will not cover up such criminality".

County council leader George Finch had claimed two men charged in connection with the reported crime were asylum seekers and accused the force and Home Office of covering it up.

In a letter addressed to Finch, Chief Constable Alex Franklin-Smith said the force's priority was to support the victim and identify those responsible.

Finch, who represents Reform UK, said residents had "not been told the full story" and the only risk to public order came from "the cover-up itself".

"The immigration status of Ahmad Mulakhil and Mohammad Kabir is now public knowledge, having been placed into the public domain by yourself," Mr Franklin-Smith wrote, in a letter published on the force's website.

The Chief Constable said he had asked the Home Office to confirm the men's immigration status.

Warwickshire County Council leader George Finch had accused police of withholding information regarding the alleged rape

The reported rape of a 12-year-old girl in Nuneaton on Tuesday 22 July was a truly horrific crime," Mr Franklin-Smith added.

"My responsibility is what Warwickshire Police say and do and we will continue to work with our partners across the county on behalf of the Warwickshire public.

"I am confident that Warwickshire Police has treated this investigation seriously from the outset, working tirelessly to identify, locate, arrest and charge those suspected of being responsible for this awful crime as quickly as possible."

He confirmed he had first spoken to Finch, who at 19 is the youngest council leader in the UK, about the matter on 31 July as it was "good practice" to work closely with partner agencies.

"You informed me you had already received a confidential briefing from your Chief Executive and that you knew the person charged was an asylum seeker," he wrote.

"I confirmed this was accurate and we wouldn't be releasing immigration status at point of charge as we follow national guidance."

Finch had published a letter on his social media accounts on Sunday, claiming the chief executive of the council, Monica Fogarty, had told him Mohammad Kabir was an asylum seeker living in a house of multiple occupancy.

Ahmad Mulakhil faces two rape charges, while Mohammad Kabir is accused of kidnap, strangulation and aiding and abetting the rape of a girl aged under 13.

The men, both from the Warwickshire town, will next appear at Warwick Crown Court on 26 August.

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Guidelines on disclosing personal information about suspects of crime are being reviewed but Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has said it was up to individual police forces and the Crown Prosecution Service to decide what is released.

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage previously called the police's decision not to publish the details a "cover-up".

Speaking alongside Finch at a press conference in Westminster on Monday, Farage linked a perceived lack of information from police to what happened after the Southport attacks July.

"It is not... in any way at all a contempt of court for the British public to know the identity of those who allegedly have committed serious crimes," he said.