
Richard Spurr 1am - 4am
10 March 2025, 13:55 | Updated: 10 March 2025, 14:00
A migrant who has previously called for the murder of Jewish people and voiced support for Hamas has been arrested after arriving in the UK on a small boat.
The Palestinian influencer, who goes by the name Abu Wadei, shared footage on what is seemingly an inflatable dinghy on his TikTok account last week.
Wadei’s video featured dozens of asylum seekers wearing life jackets as they huddled together on the small boats.
The video was captioned in Arabic: “Thank God, we arrived in Britain after a difficult journey.”
A Facebook post shared on the same day read: “By the grace of Allah Almighty I reached Britain after a long and difficult journey at sea.”
Wadei is understood to have been arrested by immigration enforcement on March 9 and remains in custody.
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According to Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA), Wadei has previously attended events led by murdered Hamas leader and mastermind behind the October 7 attack on Israel Yahya Sinwar.
Facebook posts also seemingly show him posing with AK-47 rifles.
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philip described his arrival as “deeply disturbing.”
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CAA said on X: "We welcome the reported arrest of Abu Wadei. It is evident that he poses a threat to the safety of the Jewish community and to the British public more widely.
"Clearly he should not be at liberty in the UK. We are now asking @UKHomeOffice to confirm that this case will be expedited and we are seeking assurances on the anticipated timeframes.
"We are also asking why nobody seemed to have worked out who he was until our investigators exposed him."
Wadei boasted a sizeable following on TikTok, around 172,000 followers, prior to his account being suspended on Saturday.
A Home Office spokesperson said: “The Government is committed to ending small boat crossings which undermine our border security, and restoring order to the asylum system to ensure that the rules are respected and enforced.
“The British public can be reassured that we take all steps necessary at all times to protect the nation’s security, including taking action in the Border Security Bill to give the police and immigration officers stronger powers to act where anyone poses a threat.”