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Beauty Queen Jihadi Landed Top Job At UK Council

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Ian Miles Cheong Contributor
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A female jihadi who was jailed for ten years for her participation in the July 21, 2005 failed terrorist strike in London now holds a top job with a Labour council.

Thirty-three-year-old Mulumebet Girma signed up with the Southwark Council after she lied about her history. Colleagues who failed to do a proper background check on Girma didn’t realize they were working with a convicted criminal.

According to the Daily Mail on Tuesday, Girma never declared her criminal past or her role in aiding and abetting her terrorist brother-in-law, Hussein Osman, who tried to blow up a packed London commuter train.

The explosives failed to go off and all the main suspects were arrested. She was convicted of hiding him in her home and for failing to inform the police about his plans prior to the failed terrorist attack, which she was well aware of.

Girma was convicted of assisting an offender and jailed for 10 years (Image: REX/Shutterstock)

Mulumebet Girma (Image: REX/Shutterstock)

A former model, the Ethiopian-born Girma managed to lie her way through the ranks of the London council all the way to the top, and even appeared on the cover of its magazine to promote an apprenticeship program.

It is unknown how Girma managed to slip through the vetting process. As the Daily Mail notes, it’s easy enough to find information about Girma on Google given her unusual name and appearance. Details about her conviction come up on the first page of the search results.

The publication states that Girma was recruited as a trainee customer services assistant in 2013 shortly after an early release from her 10-year jail sentence. She was one of 40 apprentices that year, and was later promoted as a systems and performance analyst before appearing as the cover girl for the council’s in-house magazine.

Southwark Council News (Credit: Southwark Council)

Southwark Council News (Credit: Southwark Council)

According to The Sun, her position at work allowed her access to a database with clients who are deemed “vulnerable.” Individuals who are on a police watch list or are suspected to have ties to terrorists are coded “vulnerable.”

Senior staff at the south London local authority deny that the former beauty queen-turned-terrorist had any access to confidential police “watch list” information, and that a review of her computer revealed nothing suspicious.

Southwark Tory councilor Michael Mitchell decried the oversight. “This is a truly shocking blunder,” he said. “Allowing someone with that background to work with potentially vulnerable clients is an entirely avoidable risk. It’s a huge error.”

Following the news stories, Southwark Council chief executive Eleanor Kelly said that Girma no longer works for them.

Ian Miles Cheong is a journalist and outspoken media critic. You can reach him through social media at @stillgray on Twitter and on Facebook.