The Sudanese man who has been charged with attempted murder after a horror knife attack in Belfast this week was given asylum under a “fast-track” scheme after completing a questionnaire, it has emerged.
It was already known that Hadi Alodid – before the court by video link yesterday charged with the brutal attack on Stephen Ogilvie in the Kinnaird Avenue area of Belfast on Monday – travelled from Paris to Dublin and then to Northern Ireland in 2023.
But GB News now reports that he was “handed asylum in UK under ‘fast-track’ Home Office scheme” and “granted permission to remain in the country after answering a 10-page questionnaire with no face-to-face interview”.
The “streamlined” scheme was set up by then-Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, the report says. “The programme was set up in a bid to ease a ballooning backlog of more than 92,000 asylum cases under the Tory Government and replaced the meticulous face-to-face interview process.”
The sheer volume of asylum seekers granted leave to stay led to the scheme being privately described within the Home Office as the ‘grant factory’, the Daily Mail says – adding that a Conservative Party source said that Home Office staff “did not want” the scheme to be introduced, but had it “forced” upon them by Mr Sunak anyway.
The “barbaric” and “medieval” attack on Stephen Ogilvie has attracted worldwide attention after being posted on social media, with the video capturing horrified bystanders saying the attacker was trying to behead the victim. Belfast has witnessed serious disorder since the attack, with twelve police officers injured last night.
Yesterday, Belfast Magistrates’ Court heard that Hadi Alodid also told medical staff in a Belfast hospital “I will kill you” on the same day the attack took place.
Hadi Alodid was heard saying: “I’ve killed someone. I don’t know if they’re dead”, the court heard Wednesday.
The Sudanese national also told medical staff “I will kill you”, while being treated for a hand injury, a detective told the court.
In addition to being charged with attempted murder, Alodid has been charged with threatening to kill an NHS radiographer and with the possession of a knife.
Alodid, aged 30, appeared via video link at Belfast Magistrates’ Court charged with the attempted murder of Stephen Ogilvie. Mr Ogilvie has lost his left eye, the court heard, with damage to his right eye and deep cuts to his head, face and back.
A packed courtroom heard that Alodid was offered legal representation, which he declined. He made no reply to charges put to him through an Arabic interpreter.
When asked if he was applying for bail, the accused nodded his head in the affirmative – however bail was denied.
District Judge Stephen Keown cited the risk of significant public disorder, along with a flight risk and a risk of reoffending. Police said that they “strongly” opposed bail on the grounds that Alodid is charged with an “extremely serious offence” which has sparked “serious media attention.”