Abdul Ezedi: Documents reveal why Clapham chemical attacker was granted asylum – as pictures show him being baptised
Documents revealing why Clapham chemical attacker Abdul Ezedi – a convicted sex offender – was granted asylum have been made public for the first time, while Sky News has obtained pictures of him being baptised in church.
Ezedi attacked a woman and two children with an alkali on a street in south London in January.
The 35-year-old, from Afghanistan, had twice been refused asylum by the Home Office after arriving in the UK on the back of a lorry in 2016.
Ezedi pictured after the chemical attack in January this year
The second refusal was overturned by a judge in an appeal hearing in October 2020 because of Ezedi’s claim to have converted to Christianity.
A suggestion that he would be at risk of persecution if he returned to Afghanistan was supported by a vicar.
Judge WK O’Hanlon, who granted Ezedi asylum at Newcastle Immigration Court in November 2020, said in his judgment that “the most compelling evidence was that of the former Reverend Merrin”.
The details of that hearing were not initially made public but Sky News can now reveal exactly what happened after receiving the court documents in full.
Ezedi being baptised. Pic: Tribunals Judiciary
‘Baptised by total immersion’
A letter written to the court by Reverend Roy Merrin, a retired ministry team leader at Grange Road Baptist Church in Jarrow, dated 28 August 2018, reads: “I have known Abdul since February 2016, during which time he has attended regular worship services at Grange Road.”
“Abdul has attended an Alpha Course organised by the church and, as a result of him coming to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, has been baptised by total immersion.”
“Abdul has established a good relationship with the other Church members, and is always willing to help as required. Apart from that, Abdul has been ready to share his faith in Christ with non-Christians.”
Reverend Merrin also told the court hearing when he appeared in person that he had previously attended tribunals for four other asylum seekers all of whom were successful in their appeals.
Sky News has contacted Reverend Merrin, who said he had no comment to make.
Also submitted to the tribunal hearing were photos from Ezedi’s baptism on 24 June 2018 as well as pictures of him engaging in what his legal team described as “street ministry”.
Ezedi giving out church leaflets. Pic: Tribunals Judiciary
‘Male supporter’ required at church
But also included in the documents is an undated “safeguarding contract” in relation to Ezedi, drawn up by “Baptists Together”, stating: “This agreement is being put in place because of a conviction of sexual assault and exposure.”
Among other conditions, Ezedi had agreed to “not enter the church without [his] male supporter being present” and “will only come to church for Sunday service”.
It was while living in the UK as a failed asylum seeker that Ezedi had pleaded guilty to one count of sexual assault and one count of exposure at Newcastle Crown Court in January 2018. He was handed a suspended prison sentence and put on the sex offenders’ register.
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Pic: Tribunals Judiciary
Ezedi twice refused asylum
There is no mention of those convictions in the tribunal judgment that granted asylum to Ezedi. The court documents have also revealed more about why Ezedi had twice previously been refused asylum.
Ezedi’s initial asylum claim after his arrival in 2016 was on the basis that he feared persecution because of his ethnic group. During that claim, he was described as a Shia Muslim.
The claim was rejected by the Home Office in May 2016 and further rejected on appeal in February 2017. By June 2017, Ezedi had run out of appeal options and was living illegally in the UK.
It was in March 2019 that Ezedi submitted a new asylum claim to the Home Office, saying he had converted to Christianity and would face persecution on that basis if he returned to Afghanistan.
That claim was refused by the Home Office in March 2020 because it did not believe his conversion was genuine.
A letter of congratulation written to Ezedi regarding his baptism. Pic: Tribunals Judiciary
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Asylum seekers have the right to appeal Home Office refusals, and Ezedi and his lawyers then compiled the bundle of documents that were put before the judge for the tribunal hearing that led to him being granted asylum.
A Home Office spokesperson said: “All asylum claims are carefully considered on their individual merits in accordance with the immigration rules.
“This means that religious conversions do not guarantee a grant of asylum.
“We have engaged with a wide range of stakeholders to help us to improve our policy guidance, training for asylum decision makers, and to ensure we approach claims involving religious conversion in the appropriate way.”
Baptists Together told Sky News: “Baptists Together did not corporately support or sponsor Abdul Ezedi’s asylum application. A personal letter of support commenting solely on Abdul Ezedi’s observed faith journey was written by a retired Baptist Minister.
“The safeguarding contract was a separate issue and was agreed between the church and Abdul Ezedi, with guidance from local and regional safeguarding leads using our national template document of the time.
“This was to show the church had sufficiently risk assessed Abdul Ezedi’s attendance at church, ensuring the safety of the congregation and considering if it was appropriate for him to attend.
“The Home Office make the final decision on asylum applications and have access to full criminal records data to enable them to do this.”
Additional reporting by Nick Stylianou, communities producer
A teenager charged with the murder of nine-year-old Aria Thorpe will stand trial in June next year.
The 15-year-old boy, who cannot be named because of his age, appeared at Bristol Crown Court on Friday.
The defendant, who appeared via video link from youth detention accommodation, spoke only to confirm his name.
During a brief hearing, Judge Peter Blair KC, the Recorder of Bristol, set a provisional trial date for 15 June 2026.
The trial is expected to last two weeks.
Avon and Somerset Police were called to Lime Close in Weston-super-Mare just before 6.10pm on Monday, where nine-year-old Aria had suffered a single stab wound.
Flowers laid in memory of the young girl
The boy was arrested in nearby Worle a short time later.
His father was among those attending in the public gallery.
The teenager is next expected to appear in court on 16 March.
The British government is hoping a change in German law will help stop small boat crossings to the UK.
The measures to criminalise the facilitation of migrant smuggling towards the UK, agreed more than a year ago, have now been passed by German legislators.
British ministers say they mean gangs will no longer be able to store small boats or engines in Germany before transporting them into France to cross the Channel.
It will also strengthen existing UK-German law enforcement cooperation and information sharing, they say.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said: “Together with our German allies, we are cracking down on the criminal gangs operating the illegal migration trade.
“I thank minister [of the interior] Alexander Dobrindt for Germany’s strong cooperation with the UK in tackling this issue.
“This government is restoring order at our borders by scaling up removals and removing the incentives that draw people here illegally.”
The law passed on Friday is set to be in force by the end of the year, the government said.
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The first 10 months of 2025 saw record numbers of people crossing in small boats, although the total number of people arriving across the Channel has since fallen below the peak seen in 2022.
For 28 days no crossings were recorded in official figures before hundreds of people made the journey last weekend.
Illegal small boat migration has become one of the most contentious issues in British politics, symbolising frustration with migration levels and a perceived lack of control from multiple prime ministers.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer moved away from the Rwanda deportation scheme and pledged instead to “smash the gangs” before his election victory.
However, the failure to make a substantial difference to the number of people crossing has been seized upon by both the Conservatives and Reform.
Others, like the Green Party’s Zack Polanski, have called for safe asylum routes to be opened to discourage people crossing clandestinely.
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Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said: “Criminal smuggler gangs operate across borders, so governments and law enforcement need to cooperate across borders to bring them down.
“This major change in German law is the result of our close partnership working to tackle illegal migration and organised immigration crime. We will continue to ramp up our international cooperation to strengthen our own border security. These are the partnerships we build abroad to make us stronger at home.”
Adrian Matthews, director of intelligence at the National Crime Agency, said: “We welcome the legislative change in Germany.
“It will help boost our efforts against the small boats threat and it builds on our close working relationships with German partners who are key to helping disrupt organised crime groups operating from the continent.”
A woman and her lover who plotted to kill her husband so they could continue their affair have both been jailed for 19 years.
Michelle Mills and Geraint Berry planned to murder Christopher Mills and make it look like suicide.
They were found guilty of conspiracy to murder after a trial at Swansea Crown Court in October.
Michelle Mills and Geraint Berry
Christopher Mills fought off his attackers. Pic: Dimitris Legakis/Athena Pictures/Shutterstock
A third person, Steven Thomas, was found not guilty of conspiracy to murder but pleaded guilty to a firearms charge.
Police were called on 20 September last year to reports that masked men carrying guns, later found to be Berry and Thomas, had raided a static caravan in Cenarth, Ceredigion.
Despite being badly beaten, Mr Mills was able to fight them off and they fled.
Michelle Mills, 46, called 999 to say her husband had a head injury and claimed she did not know the armed men who broke in.
Armed officers and a dog unit responded, and a police helicopter soon spotted Berry, 46, and Thomas, 47, hiding in undergrowth.
Gas masks and a fake suicide note were found on Berry and Thomas
While searching Berry and Thomas, officers found gas masks and a typed suicide note addressed to Mills purporting to have been written by her husband.
Police quickly established that Mills, of Llangennech in Carmarthenshire, was linked to the plot.
Digital evidence revealed she and Berry – a former Royal Marine – had been in a secret relationship for around three months and had discussed ways to kill Mr Mills.
These included killing him with sleeping tablets, suffocating him in his sleep and poisoning him with antifreeze.
Berry also looked into how to make his victim’s Mini explode on start up.
Police said when Berry told Mills he was meeting with some “boys” to plan “what they are going to do with him”, she responded: “Yes, lovely, thank you.”
Imitation guns, pliers and cable ties were also part of the plotters’ kit
Gas masks were ‘to set up a fake suicide’
Detective Inspector Sam Gregory said: “Berry and Mills had previously discussed using gas to kill Mr Mills, while making it look like he had taken his own life.
“Berry had asked Mills where the boiler was, and he and Thomas carried gas masks that would have protected themselves while Mr Mills suffocated.
“No explanation has been given by any of the three defendants for the fake suicide note or the gas masks in the rucksack.
“What’s clear is that these were not being used to frighten Mr Mills – they were there to set up a fake suicide.”
DI Gregory said the victim had no idea his wife of 10 years wanted him dead and believed they had a happy marriage.
An image taken from police bodyworn video showing Michelle Mills’ arrest. Pic: PA
‘Your intention was to kill’
Judge Mr Justice Nicklin KC said the pair had not shown any remorse and they were only concerned with not getting caught.
“You devised the plan and led its execution,” he told Berry.
“You recruited Steven Thomas to assist you and while intoxicated, you equipped yourself with items that demonstrated your intention to kill Mr Mills and make it appear to be a suicide.
“However incompetent the plan was and how unlikely it was to be achieved, your intention was to kill.”
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The judge told Michelle Mills she had encouraged her lover.
He said: “The evidence strongly suggests in the weeks leading up to the incident, you cultivated and exploited Geraint Berry’s animosity towards your husband and encouraged him to find a way to get rid of your husband, not in fantasy but reality.”
The judge also praised Mr Mills’ “remarkable fortitude and courage” in fighting off the pair.
Steven Thomas was sentenced to 12 months but will be released immediately due to time served on remand.
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