Two Afghan asylum seekers have denied charges relating to the alleged abduction and rape of a 12-year-old girl in Nuneaton, as Home Secretary Yvette Cooper calls for greater transparency from police forces following claims of a “cover-up” by authorities.
Ahmad Mulakhil, 23, pleaded not guilty to three counts of rape of a child under 13, two counts of sexual assault of a child under 13, and one count of child abduction at Warwick Crown Court on Thursday. Mohammad Kabir, also 23, denied charges of aiding and abetting rape of a child under 13, intentional strangulation, and attempting to take a child.
The case has sparked fierce political debate after the Daily Mail revealed that Warwickshire Police had advised councillors and local officials not to disclose the suspects’ immigration status, allegedly fearing it would “inflame community tensions”.
Both defendants, wearing grey prison tracksuits, appeared side by side in the dock at Warwick Crown Court. Mulakhil required a Farsi interpreter whilst Kabir was assisted by a Pashto interpreter to enter their pleas before Judge Kristina Montgomery KC.
The alleged incident occurred in the Cheverel Street area of Nuneaton between 8.30pm and 9.45pm on Tuesday, 22 July. CCTV footage obtained by the Mail on Sunday from a resident’s property near Cheverel Street appears to show a man walking with a white girl at approximately 8pm, around half an hour before the alleged assault.
Warwickshire Police arrested Mulakhil four days after the incident on 26 July, charging him the following day. Kabir was arrested on 31 July and charged with his alleged involvement in the attack.
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage accused authorities of orchestrating a “cover-up that in many ways is reminiscent of what happened after the Southport killings last year. He called for police forces to routinely release the immigration status of people charged with crimes.
George Finch, the 19-year-old Reform UK leader of Warwickshire County Council and Britain’s youngest council leader, wrote to the force’s chief constable claiming: “The continued cover-up of the true nature of Ahmad Mulakhil’s immigration status risks public disorder breaking out on the streets of Warwickshire.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper responded to the controversy by stating “more transparency is needed” from police forces. She revealed that guidance to police was already under review and that she had asked the Law Commission to accelerate their examination of contempt of court issues six months ago.
“We do think the guidance needs to change,” Cooper said. “I think the police will always aim to be as transparent as possible, but they are limited because of their need to protect the criminal justice process.”
The case triggered significant public protests in Nuneaton on 9 August, when hundreds of demonstrators gathered outside the town hall waving Union flags and St George’s Cross flags. Protesters chanted “Stop the boats” and “We want our country back” as they marched through the Warwickshire town centre.
The demonstration saw protesters march from the Town Hall, up Queen’s Road, along Stratford Street, and down Abbey Street before returning to the Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council building. A significantly smaller group of Stand Up to Racism counter-protesters attended with placards reading “stop the far right”.
Nuneaton and Bedworth Police reported one arrest during the protests – a 17-year-old boy from Nuneaton who was detained for making threats to cause criminal damage.
Warwickshire Police Chief Constable Alex Franklin-Smith defended his force’s approach, stating they “did not and will not” cover up alleged criminality and had followed national guidance. 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 said.
The force maintains that once someone is charged with an offence, it follows national guidance which “does not include sharing ethnicity or immigration status”. The College of Policing has emphasised that transparency is “essential to prevent misinformation”.
Inquiries by the Mail on Sunday revealed that both Mulakhil and Kabir had been living in taxpayer-funded accommodation in Nuneaton. The men occupied two rented houses approximately 70 yards apart on adjoining streets, both managed by Serco, which holds a £1.9 billion contract with the Home Office to house asylum seekers across the country.
Each property reportedly accommodated around five asylum seekers. When contacted about the allegations, the owner of Mulakhil’s property told the newspaper she was “sickened to the stomach” upon hearing about the incident, adding: “I don’t know anything because Serco manage the house completely.”
Serco declined to confirm individual addresses or names, stating: “We do not confirm individual addresses, nor the names of people in properties we manage.”
The Mail reported that Mulakhil had crossed the English Channel on a small boat, though this detail has not been officially confirmed by authorities.
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp warned against repeating past mistakes, stating: “The police must be open about who is committing these alleged offences, and not try to hide it. Otherwise, we risk a repeat of the rape gang scandal where horrendous crimes were covered up because of the identity of the perpetrators.”
He called on the Government to ensure “the immigration status and nationality of all offenders is published for each crime, and as quarterly totals”.
The victim, whose identity is protected by law, is now understood to be receiving specialist care following the alleged attack.
Both men have been remanded in custody and will next appear at Warwick Crown Court on 21 November for a pre-trial hearing. Their trial is scheduled to begin on 26 January next year and is expected to last five days.
Warwickshire Police continue to appeal for witnesses who were in the Cheverel Street area between 8.30pm and 9.45pm on 22 July to come forward. Anyone with information is asked to contact the force on 101, quoting incident number 418 of 22 July 2025.
The case has reignited debate about police transparency and the handling of crimes involving asylum seekers, particularly in the context of rising community tensions across the UK. The Home Secretary’s acknowledgement that guidance needs updating represents a significant shift in government policy on police disclosure practices.
As the legal proceedings continue, the case remains a flashpoint for broader debates about immigration, crime, and the balance between protecting the integrity of criminal proceedings and maintaining public trust through transparency.
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Image Credit:
Warwickshire Justice Centre, Royal Leamington Spa — photo by Jaggery, taken on 19 April 2015. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic (CC BY-SA 2.0)
