Probe launched into police training head named in damning anti-terrorism report
The crime commissioner has launched an investigation into the head of police training in the region who is accused of sharing anti-Semitic content online.
Dr Rizwan Mustafa, a former copper who is in charge of teaching police recruits at Staffordshire University, shared content promoting the destruction of Israel and described Jews as “filth”, according to a report on the Government's anti-terrorism strategy.
West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) Simon Foster has now launched a probe into the matter after being contacted by the Express & Star.
Announcing his intentions on Twitter, the Labour official said: "I am deeply concerned about this matter and am treating it with the utmost seriousness.
"I have immediately requested that West Midlands Police conduct an investigation into this matter and report to me as a matter of urgency, so that I can then determine the best course of action, based on the outcome of that investigation."
The report, written by William Shawcross, highlights Dr Mustafa, a qualified Muslim cleric who spent nearly 12 years as a police officer with West Midlands Police and was a founding chair of the regional branch of the National Association of Muslim Police (NAMP).
It says he has "shared conspiracy theories about the origins of al-Qa’ida and Islamic State, and promoted content which called for the destruction of Israel and described Jews as 'filth'".
The report continues: "He also shared a video of a talk given by a cleric who has previously praised Hamas and a post from ex-Guantanamo Bay detainee Moazzam Begg, now of CAGE.
"Begg’s post criticised Muslim leaders who develop community outreach projects, claiming that, by doing so, they are “adopt[ing] the language of the oppressors".
"I was disturbed to learn that this individual has worked with government departments on counter-terrorism and security policy."
A spokesperson from Counter Terrorism Policing West Midlands said: “In our delivery of Prevent, we have sometimes been required to speak to a range of people and organisations with differing views on how best to tackle the issue of extremism and radicalisation.
“Doing so is not an indication of support for that organisation, or that we condone their views.”
