Syrian migrant Mohammed Sharwarq – living at the Bell Hotel in Epping – has today been charged with sexual assault. He is facing seven charges linked to offences alleged to have occurred committed from 25 July to 12 August…
The charges faced by the 32-year-old are two counts of common assault, four counts of assault by beating, and one count of sexual assault on a man. He was remanded in custody and is set to appear at Chelmsford magistrates’ court on Wednesday…
Epping Forest District Council has applied for a temporary High Court injunction to prevent migrants being housed at the Bell Hotel. The Home Office said: “It would be inappropriate to comment while legal proceedings are ongoing.” Sharwarq is the second migrant staying there to be charged with a sexual offence. An Ethiopian man was charged with the sexual assault of a schoolgirl after he arrived in Britain.
Speaking on Times Radio, former Home Secretary David Blunkett spoke about overdiagnosis of mental problems:
“Let’s distinguish those who are really severely mentally ill, diagnosed with things that require prolonged medical and diagnostic treatment. My wife and I talk about this a lot, because she’s a retired GP, about the fact that you can be sad without being ill. You can be momentarily depressed because your boyfriend or girlfriend’s just thrown you and you’re not mentally ill. You can even have mild issues, which can be dealt with with the right kind of support, but it doesn’t make you mentally ill. So we’ve got a real task, I think, to get the psychology, if you like, of this over. But there are things where you definitely need medical intervention, and there are other things where you need good friends, you need good connectivity, and you need a job.”