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The Metropolitan Police have expanded their investigation into allegations that an individual associated with Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) incited violence in Pakistan using the British soil.
Investigators are now going through various speeches MQM leader Altaf Hussain has made over the last couple of years from Britain and not only the speeches made after the 11 May elections this year, confirmed a police source.
These speeches were seized originally during a raid at the MQM Secretariat on 6th of December last year but were included in the investigation after thousands of Pakistanis complained to the Metropolitan Police about the Teen Talwar speech and at least two other speeches, all of them made after the May 11 elections. It is understood that thousands of Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI) supporters flooded the Metropolitan Police with complaints about the remarks made in these speeches.
Over the past six weeks, we have assimilated a large quantity of information and we are in the process of evaluating that material, said a police source, adding that: We take all allegations of crime seriously; responding to the concerns raised and will take action where appropriate. We cannot say at this stage if the hate-speech laws have been broken but we are assessing the material that we obtained and was passed to us by members of the public. We will pass on our findings to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) who will then decide whether the laws have been broken, if any, and under what laws. The police refused to reveal whether some of the information over the past six weeks has also come from the newly elected Pakistani government or any other organ of the Pakistani state.
The spokesman confirmed that the searches at the MQM office on December 6 last year under Schedule 1 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act (PACE) prompted the money-laundering investigation for the first time under the Proceeds of Crimes Act (POCA). The BBC has claimed that £400,000 were found from the two properties but the figure seized from the third property is not known and the MQM has not disputed the figure quoted by the BBC.
It is believed that the police raided the two premises on June 18 on the tip-off from inside the MQM. One of the houses was searched only four hours after the hard cash was shifted there, The News has learnt.
Explaining that it was the seizure of money that prompted the money-laundering investigation, the police source explained that its not uncommon that an investigation leads to the discovery of material which prompts an altogether new investigation. During the course of police investigations other suspected criminality may be identified. In these cases we have a duty to take appropriate action and investigate thoroughly. The police are operationally independent and politically neutral. Police carried out their obligations under the provisions of existing UK law.
The police source said that the MQM leader has not contacted the police yet about his concerns that the British establishment may eliminate him and that the security institutions of Britain are allegedly part of a conspiracy against him. The spokesperson said that the police is legally bound to look into allegations of threats and assesses such complaints accordingly. If allegations of crime are made to police they are fully assessed and, if appropriated, investigated.
Separately, a Foreign Office spokesman denied Britains involvement in any conspiracy against the MQM leadership. When asked what steps the British government is taking to address the security concerns of Altaf Hussain, a spokesman said that the police are the appropriate body to investigate any allegations of criminal acts. The police have complete operational independence from government.
If anyone has information about a crime or is concerned about their personal safety, they should contact their local police force. Anyone with evidence of criminal acts being planned or commissioned from the UK should pass that information to the appropriate UK police force. The Metropolitan Police and its investigation into the murder of Dr Imran Farooq is independent of the British government.
When asked about Hussains assertion that wrongly prosecuting him in Dr Imran Farooqs murder will have consequences for Britain, the spokesman said: We take any information we receive about potential crimes or risks to security seriously and pass it to the relevant authorities.
London Police expand probe into Altaf
Investigators are now going through various speeches MQM leader Altaf Hussain has made over the last couple of years from Britain and not only the speeches made after the 11 May elections this year, confirmed a police source.
These speeches were seized originally during a raid at the MQM Secretariat on 6th of December last year but were included in the investigation after thousands of Pakistanis complained to the Metropolitan Police about the Teen Talwar speech and at least two other speeches, all of them made after the May 11 elections. It is understood that thousands of Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI) supporters flooded the Metropolitan Police with complaints about the remarks made in these speeches.
Over the past six weeks, we have assimilated a large quantity of information and we are in the process of evaluating that material, said a police source, adding that: We take all allegations of crime seriously; responding to the concerns raised and will take action where appropriate. We cannot say at this stage if the hate-speech laws have been broken but we are assessing the material that we obtained and was passed to us by members of the public. We will pass on our findings to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) who will then decide whether the laws have been broken, if any, and under what laws. The police refused to reveal whether some of the information over the past six weeks has also come from the newly elected Pakistani government or any other organ of the Pakistani state.
The spokesman confirmed that the searches at the MQM office on December 6 last year under Schedule 1 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act (PACE) prompted the money-laundering investigation for the first time under the Proceeds of Crimes Act (POCA). The BBC has claimed that £400,000 were found from the two properties but the figure seized from the third property is not known and the MQM has not disputed the figure quoted by the BBC.
It is believed that the police raided the two premises on June 18 on the tip-off from inside the MQM. One of the houses was searched only four hours after the hard cash was shifted there, The News has learnt.
Explaining that it was the seizure of money that prompted the money-laundering investigation, the police source explained that its not uncommon that an investigation leads to the discovery of material which prompts an altogether new investigation. During the course of police investigations other suspected criminality may be identified. In these cases we have a duty to take appropriate action and investigate thoroughly. The police are operationally independent and politically neutral. Police carried out their obligations under the provisions of existing UK law.
The police source said that the MQM leader has not contacted the police yet about his concerns that the British establishment may eliminate him and that the security institutions of Britain are allegedly part of a conspiracy against him. The spokesperson said that the police is legally bound to look into allegations of threats and assesses such complaints accordingly. If allegations of crime are made to police they are fully assessed and, if appropriated, investigated.
Separately, a Foreign Office spokesman denied Britains involvement in any conspiracy against the MQM leadership. When asked what steps the British government is taking to address the security concerns of Altaf Hussain, a spokesman said that the police are the appropriate body to investigate any allegations of criminal acts. The police have complete operational independence from government.
If anyone has information about a crime or is concerned about their personal safety, they should contact their local police force. Anyone with evidence of criminal acts being planned or commissioned from the UK should pass that information to the appropriate UK police force. The Metropolitan Police and its investigation into the murder of Dr Imran Farooq is independent of the British government.
When asked about Hussains assertion that wrongly prosecuting him in Dr Imran Farooqs murder will have consequences for Britain, the spokesman said: We take any information we receive about potential crimes or risks to security seriously and pass it to the relevant authorities.
London Police expand probe into Altaf
