Teen who sparked Lily Allen’s tears arrives in UK
THE teenage refugee who Lily Allen apologised to ‘on behalf of my country’ arrived in the UK from Calais yesterday.
Shamsher Sherin beamed with delight as he was ushered into a Home Office immigration centre to claim asylum.
The boy, who says he is 13, is expected to start living with his father Hazrat Gul Sherin in Birmingham tomorrow.
Shamsher was living in the Jungle migrant camp when Miss Allen apologised for him being ‘put in the hands of the Taliban’ by Britain’s military interventions in the country.
But last night Mr Sherin told the Daily Mail: ‘I am so very happy. This is wonderful news. My son has not arrived yet, so I am still waiting to see him.’
The 49-year-old, who has lived in Birmingham for seven years, has said he used to be a commander in the Islamist group Hezb-e-Islami, led by the ‘Butcher of Kabul’, Gulbuddin Hekmatyar. Hekmatyar was dubbed a ‘war criminal’ by Afghanistan’s post-Taliban government, led by Hamid Karzai.
Mr Sherin’s son reduced Miss Allen to tears last week during a BBC interview to highlight the plight of unaccompanied children living in the squalid Jungle camp.
After learning of his struggle to reach Britain, the pop star said: ‘We’ve bombed your country, put you in the hands of the Taliban and now put you in danger of risking your life to get into our country. I apologise on behalf of my country. I’m sorry for what we have put you through.’
Miss Allen’s remarks led to her receiving a large amount of abuse online, with some viewers claiming her apology was ‘ridiculous’.
Richard Hughes wrote on Twitter: ‘You should be ashamed of yourself, apologising on behalf of a nation and its people. Just who the hell do you think you are?’
Martin James tweeted: ‘Guaranteed the migrants won’t be coming to an expensive house near you – they’ll be coming to a council flat near me.’
The singer went further when she compared British foreign policy in the Middle East with the behaviour of Islamic State. And yesterday she wrote on Twitter: ‘So happy to see that Shamsher made it to the UK safely and won’t be risking his life
‘Waiting to see him’
jumping on to moving vehicles.’ Shamsher, who fled Afghanistan to avoid conscription by the Taliban, was one of 12 young migrants who travelled by bus from northern France yesterday.
He told the Mail he was grateful to the British servicemen who had fought to try to rid his country of the Islamist insurgents.
‘The British Government didn’t make any problems for me in Afghanistan,’ he said last week.
Asked what he thought about British military attacks on the Taliban in the country, he beamed and said: ‘I was happy.’
Shamsher and the male migrants who arrived yesterday were interviewed by Home Office officials through an interpreter.
Most were taken to temporary foster homes last night while social workers visit their relatives in the UK to ensure the homes are safe to live in.
Dozens more migrants who claim they are under 18 are expected at the Croydon immigration centre over the next few days.