Bristol Black Lives Matter march organiser admits fundraiser fraud

Xahra Saleem pleaded guilty to one charge of fraud earlier in September

An organiser of a Black Lives Matter protest has admitted taking money from a fundraising page set up before the toppling of Edward Colston's statue.

Xahra Saleem was one of the organisers of a protest held in Bristol in response to the murder of George Floyd by police in the US.

It is alleged the excess funds from the fundraiser were supposed to be given to a youth charity.

Saleem admitted one count of fraud at Bristol Crown Court on 19 September.

She is due to be sentenced at the same court on 31 October.

Edward Colston's statue was torn down in Bristol in 2020 during anti-racism protests which had taken place across the UK.

A statue of slave trader Edward Colston was thrown into the harbour on the day of the protest

Saleem, 23, of Romford, was one of five people behind the group All Black Lives Matter UK, who organised the protest on 7 June 2020.

In the days leading up to the protest, Saleem organised a fundraising page for personal protective equipment to legally facilitate the march held during the Covid-19 pandemic.

An agreement is said to have been made that any excess funds would go to Bristol-based charity Changing Your Mindset Ltd.

In January, Bristol Magistrates Court was told that the fundraising page had raised tens of thousands of pounds, but the charity never received any of the funds raised.

Saleem was also charged in connection with a second fundraising page following the protest to raise money for the legal costs of those facing charges.

Those funds are again alleged to have not been handed over.

At a further case management hearing, Saleem pleaded guilty to one count of fraud by abuse of position in relation to defrauding the charity Changing Your Mindset.

She is accused of committing both offences in Tadpole Garden Village, Swindon, Wiltshire.

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