Sir Mo Farah has confessed he is “relieved” at the Home Office decision to take no action after he made the shocking revelation that he was brought to the UK illegally as a when he was 9-years-old.
The four-time Olympic champion, now 39, admitted he has a lot of people to whom he “owed my life” after they gave him “strength” to talk about his past.
Farah revealed the sensational truth during a BBC documentary titled The Real Mo Farah. He shared how he was illegally brought to Britain from Somalia and assumed the name of another child.
He also told how his father was killed in the civil war and how he was separated from his mother. Later, he was able to obtain UK citizenship via his school PE teacher Alan Watkinson, while still using the name Mohamed Farah.
While the UK Home Office has the power to legally strip individuals of their British citizenship if it is found to have been obtained illegally, they issued a statement on Tuesday insisting no action “whatsoever” would be taken against the athlete.
A Number 10 spokesman said of the Olympic champion: “He is a sporting hero, he is an inspiration to people across the country. It is a shocking reminder of the horrors that people face when they are trafficked. And we must continue to clamp down on these criminals who take advantage of vulnerable people.”
When asked if the Home Office would be looking at taking action against the athlete, he said: “Absolutely not. I think the Home Office has been very clear that no action whatsoever will be taken against Sir Mo and that is in line with the guidance.”
During a BBC interview, Farah admitted he feels “relieved” at the government’s response, reported Mirror Online. He said: “This is my country, if it wasn’t for Alan (Watkinson) and the people that supported me throughout my childhood then maybe I wouldn’t even have the courage to be doing this.
“There’s a lot of people that have been very supportive, particularly my wife, throughout my career and gave me the strength to come and talk about it and telling me it’s ok to do this.” His comments come after the Metropolitan Police said it was “assessing” the allegations that he was trafficked into the UK as a child and forced to work as a domestic servant.
The Met Police said in a statement: “We are aware of reports in the media concerning Sir Mo Farah. No reports have been made to the MPS (the Metropolitan Police Service ) at this time. Specialist officers are currently assessing the available information.”
Many political figures have moved to praise Farah, calling him “truly inspirational” and a “great Briton” after he revealed he was trafficked into the UK as a child. Tory leadership hopeful Nadhim Zahawi praised him as a “truly inspirational” role model after the revelations and reflected on his own experiences of “fleeing” from Iraq as I child.
Similarly, London Mayor Sadiq Khan tweeted his support for the Olympian. “Everything Sir Mo has survived proves he’s not only one of our greatest Olympians but a truly great Briton,” he said.
Following the shock announcement, Farah said he is “really proud” of the documentary, which enabled him to “address and learn more” about his past and his journey to Britain.
*The Real Mo Farah will air at 6am on BBC iPlayer and 9pm on BBC One on July 13*
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