Bungling council made 21/7 suicide bomber’s helper their poster girl
A WOMAN jailed for aiding a 21/7 terror bomber went on to work for a local council after being released, an appointment branded a “truly shocking blunder” yesterday.
Mulumebet Girma was jailed for helping failed suicide bomber Hussain Osman flee after his plot to kill London Tube passengers on July 21, 2005. Girma enabled Osman to flee the UK before his eventual arrest in Italy. On leaving jail, she worked for Southwark Borough Council in south London.
The former model even became a poster girl for the local authority but was finally sacked when her terrorism conviction came to light. News of her background has angered councillors.
Liberal Democrat Anood AlSamerai, leader of Southwark’s main opposition party, called it “particularly shocking”.
She said: “Clearly something has gone very wrong. There must be an urgent independent inquiry. We are very concerned that the HR processes seem to have failed completely.
“It makes you wonder what else they have not picked up on?
“It is really important that they now have a look very closely at all the checks that should have been done.”
Tory councillor Michael Mitchell said: “This is a truly shocking blunder.
Vulnerable
“Allowing someone with that background to work with potentially vulnerable clients is an entirely avoidable risk. It’s a huge error.”
Girma, also known as Mulu, was 24 in 2008 when she was jailed for 10 years, reduced to five after an appeal.
She was found guilty of assisting an offender and failing to disclose information about the role of Osman, 28.
She was sentenced with Osman’s wife and her sister, then 32, jailed for 11 years and 9 months.
Southwark council chief Eleanor Kelly said: “The individual concerned no longer works for Southwark council. As soon as her background came to light we took immediate action and terminated her employment. She did not disclose her full offence to the council. During her employment this individual never had access to police watch-list data. We have fully reviewed her activity while she was employed at the council, including her computer usage, and no wrongdoing was uncovered. We’ve also undertaken a robust review of our processes and procedures.” Girma’s lawyer said she did reveal her record. A statement told how it stemmed from a family relationship where she aided her brother-in-law after his failed terror bid. It added: “Her conviction was not for offences which required proof of terrorist motive or intent, neither of which she had – indeed she condemns all forms of terrorism. In halving her sentence the Court of Appeal recognised the personal dilemma faced by individuals placed in her situation and since her release she has done everything in her power to lead a law abiding existence.”