‘Hackney is Abdul’s home’: Diane Abbott backs campaign to stop deportation of Stoke Newington teen
Diane Abbott, MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington, has backed a petition calling for 18-year-old Abdul Hassan to be allowed to stay in the UK. Credit: Isabel Infantes. - Credit: PA Wire/PA Images
Diane Abbott has given her backing to a growing campaign to stop the deportation of a talented Stoke Newington teenager.
A petition has been launched to stop former Stoke Newington School student Abdul Hassan (pictured here talking to the current crop of students about his plight) from being banished from the UK. - Credit: Archant
The future of former Stoke Newington School student Abdul Hassan – who has lived in Hackney since the age of five – has been taken into the heart of the Hackney community, with 23,000 strangers signing a petition to keep him in the UK.
The 18-year-old was set to begin a highly-sought apprenticeship with KPMG but his application for leave to remain was denied and his world crashed down.
Ms Abbott, the MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington, told the Gazette yesterday Abdul has her complete support.
“Any ruling that would have this bright young man torn from everything he knows must be overturned,” she said. “Hackney is Abdul’s home and he should be allowed to stay.”
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Despite the 18-year-old being allowed to complete his education at Stoke Newington School, his application for leave to remain was rejected in February 2016, meaning he will be banished to Bangladesh unless an appeal in June is successful.
Abdul, who lives in Bouverie Road, told the Gazette he has been overwhelmed by the support he has received over the past five days, which has seen 5,000 people back his cause.
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“The support from the community and friends has been amazing,” he said. “People have signed the petition from all over the UK and I will be using it as evidence in my appeal.”
Abdul moved here in 2004 to live with an aunt. Back home, his father was ill and his mother was suffering with schizophrenia.
Both parents hoped to be reunited with Abdul when their health improved, but after his father died and his mother’s mental health deteriorated the move to Hackney was made permanent.
At 16, he did not automatically receive a National Insurance number, and he had no ID or travel documents to work legally or travel abroad.
Despite Abdul losing contact with his mum and sister in Bangladesh, the Home Office insisted part of the reason he was asked to leave the UK was due to his “close family ties” there.
To view the petition click here.
