LAZY BRITISH POLICE AGAIN

And a resultant death again. The unfortunate woman should have accused someone of a "hate crime" and then she would have got instant action

An inquiry was under way last night into a series of police blunders which ended in the “honour” killing of a young woman at the hands of her father and uncle. At the centre of the police investigation will be the role played by PC Angela Cornes, who ignored the claims by Banaz Mahmood that her life was in danger and instead dismissed the 20-year-old Kurdish woman as being melodramatic. After her father Mahmod Mahmod, 52, and her uncle Ari Mahmod, 51, were convicted for murder yesterday at the Old Bailey, The Times can reveal that Miss Mahmood had told police on at least four separate occasions that the men were going to kill her because she had fallen in love with a man they disapproved of. She had even handed them a list of other men who she believed had been ordered to kill her because she was deemed to have shamed the family.

The investigation will analyse why officers appear to have ignored guidelines on how to treat suspected “honour” victims within Britain’s Asian community. They were issued to all police forces only 11 months before Miss Mahmod first voiced her fears. Last night the Home Office and chief constables promised fresh action to ensure that police recognise the complex issues facing women who are accused of dishonouring their families, often by adopting Western values by rejecting arranged marriages and traditional – often religious – dress from their home countries.

The Metropolitan police investigation will examine how PC Cornes dealt with Miss Mahmod as she lay covered in blood after fleeing from her father, who had plied her with drink and tried to kill her. In evidence to the trial the officer decided that Miss Mahmod was a melodramtic New Year’s Eve drunk. She even considered charging her with criminal damage for breaking a window to escape the attempted murder at her grandmother’s house.

Miss Mahmod, who came to Britain after escaping the brutality of Saddam Hussain’s regime in Iraq, was strangled at her South London home because she had ended an arranged marriage and started a relationship with another man. While the father and uncle showed no emotion as the unanimous verdicts were returned at the Old Bailey, their victim’s boyfriend, Rhamat Sulemani, 28, sobbed.

Last night support groups for “honour” victims joined Mr Sulemani, 28, in criticising the police failings. He said: “I hope that police are going to take this more seriously because it is happening every day in Britain. If somebody goes to the police and complains that they are threatened by someone and they fear for their lives, I just hope that they are going to do something before it’s too late.”

Report here



(And don't forget your ration of Wicked Thoughts for today)