LONDON: Ken Livingstone yesterday defended the right of extremist Abu Hamza’s son to work on the Underground. Mohamed Kamel Mostafa is himself a convicted terrorist but the mayor, who is in overall charge of the Tube, said: "We are happy to have him working for us."
Mostafa, 25, from Wembley got security clearance despite serving three years in Yemen over a plot to bomb British and American tourists. His pass gave him access to tunnels beneath Parliament.
His 48-year-old father is serving seven years for inciting murder and racial hatred. The mayor said of Mostafa: "Has he broken any laws here in Britain? The answer is no.
"No one can be blamed for what their parents do. All we ask is that they respect the law of the land and do not hurt anyone."
London Underground was yesterday accused of an appalling blunder - especially after checks were supposed to have been dramatically increased following the 7/7 atrocities.
Labour MP Andrew Dismore said: "It beggars belief. It wasn’t like he was nicked for shoplifting. It was terror offences in Yemen. You would think the Underground would be particularly sensitive to terrorism."
Mostafa got an authenticated access pass as a labourer for Tube Lines, the private sector consortia which looks after the Jubilee, Northern and Piccadilly lines.
The Jubilee line serves Westminster, the most sensitive station on the Underground and where security is supposed to be at its highest level.
He worked at nights and weekends and was only sacked from his job when colleagues realised who he was and raised the alarm.
London Underground (LU) was yesterday forced to admit they "do not make" criminal checks on everyone who works on the Tube. But LU said it was up to the sub-contractor - which he refused to name - and not LU to make such checks.
A spokesman for Tube Lines said: "I can confirm he did work for one of our subcontractors. Tube Lines requires all employees to declare all live or unspent convictions or all charges against them as does the contractor in question.
"Under LU standards Tube Lines and its contractors are required to validate the probity of the people they employ in terms of competence and right to work in the UK."
The spokesman continued: "The contractor in question has confirmed that he (Mostafa) met the relevant employment requirements according to UK legislation and LU standards and that his pass was issued by a LU accredited supplier." The spokesman also refused to name the sub-contractor involved.
A spokesman for the RMT, largest of the Tube unions, said the issue had proved its repeated criticism of lax security standards on the Tube. He said: "That is why we are against using sub-contractors. It means so many workers are given almost unfettered access."
Geoff Pope, Liberal Democrat transport spokesman for the London Assembly, called for all those working on the Tube to have the same level of checks as those given to police community support officers (PCSOs).
He said: "The contractors were right to fire Hamza’s son. This case highlights how important it is that contract workers are put through the same domestic and foreign security checks as are PCSOs."
Metronet, the largest user of labourers on the Underground, said it carries out stringent vetting procedures. – London Evening Standard
