Birmingham Four

That this House notes that this year marks the ten year anniversary of the incarceration of Khobaib Hussain, Naweed Ali, Mohibur Rahman and Tahir Aziz, known as the Birmingham Four, who were convicted in 2017 and sentenced to life imprisonment for terrorism offences following a covert police operation; further notes that the men maintain their innocence and that their legal representatives have raised serious concerns about the conduct of undercover officers, the alleged fabrication and planting of evidence, and the disclosure and handling of evidence during the investigation and trial, with their case now resting with the CCRC; expresses concern that the men have now spent ten years in prison while these allegations remain unresolved; recalls the historic miscarriage of justice suffered by the Birmingham Six, whose wrongful convictions exposed grave failures in West Midlands policing, prosecution and the criminal justice system and ultimately contributed to the establishment of the CCRC; is deeply concerned by the parallels raised between the Birmingham Six and the Birmingham Four, particularly the danger of a suspect community being treated differently by the criminal justice system; believes that allegations of police misconduct and evidence fabrication must be thoroughly and urgently investigated at the earliest opportunity, regardless of the nature of the allegations against defendants; and urges the CCRC to reach a prompt determination on the application concerning the convictions.