Birmingham robber given £10,000 to fight terror

Nov 29 2008

West Midlands Police for funding and the force considered giving him up to £1,000 from its Police Property Fund - money raised from auctioning off stolen property.

But the force then directed him to Birmingham Community Safety Partnership, a partnership involving the force, city council, West Midlands Fire Service and other bodies. The partnership is funded by its member organisations.

Under that scheme Inner City Guidance was given £5,000 in 2005. This week Mr Davis said his firm received another £5,000 from the city council, which is believed to have come from the equalities department.

He said he has also applied for funding from the Preventing Violent Extremism Pathfinder fund, as well as other European funds.

Mr Davis, who teaches adults part-time at the Salafi Mosque in Wright Street, Small Heath, has spoken openly in speeches broadcast on the Internet about his time in a Birmingham gang.

He told the Mercury: “I was in a gang for about six years, the Inch-Hi gang, it went on to become the Johnson Crew. I was involved in robberies and was sent to prison but when I went into prison and then converted to Islam, I could see the pointlessness of what I’d been doing.

“I wanted to live a different life. I went to Saudi Arabia and spent 10 years at the Islamic University of Medina, coming back to Birmingham for holidays several times a year.

“I’ve been involved in the anti-terror agenda for 18 years, and yes I’ve met young people who were at risk of getting into gang culture or being radicalised. The work we do is very sensitive and it can take a long time to gain the trust of young people who have been involved in crime.”

A city council spokesman said: “This is a project which is supported by both West Midlands Police and the Council, to which the authority has given a small amount of money. We have been given reassurances that the money will be spent for the purposes for which it was given, and are satisfied with these.”

West Midlands Police said in a statement: “This man has not been directly funded by West Midlands Police, but we have supported his application for funding with Birmingham Community Safety Partnership to tackle drugs in the local community. West Midlands Police are keen to support all communities that we have previously found difficult to engage with.”