Warwickshire council leader George Finch risks facing prosecution for contempt of court after discussing the alleged rape of a 12-year-old girl at a Reform UK press conference.
Ahmad Mulakhil, 23, was last month charged with the rape of a girl in Nuneaton. Warwickshire Police have also charged Mohammad Kabir, 23, with kidnap and strangulation in the same investigation.
At a Reform UK press conference held on Monday, Cllr Finch called for information about the immigration status of the two men to be released, adding that ‘transparency was needed’.
Cllr Finch – the youngest council leader in the country – added that he had been told that ‘if I release this [statement] I would be in contempt of court and that I cannot release this due to this phrase “community cohesion”.’
In a statement on their website, Warwickshire Police said: ‘We work to hold offenders to account and will always do everything in our power to present a robust case to the courts and protect the integrity of court proceedings.
‘Once someone is charged with an offence, we follow national guidance. This guidance does not include sharing ethnicity or immigration status.’
Cllr Finch and Reform UK have been contacted for comment.
To learn more about Reform UK, check out: Reform UK: What Britain’s fastest rising party stands for and Reform UK’s ‘Doge’ witch-hunts will achieve little.
