Parents, eh? They can be so embarrassing. If they're not getting pissed on the port at a family wedding and hokey-cokeying themselves into the nearest A&E, then they're threatening former Beatles or predicting a British 9/11. That's what Abdul Fostock has to deal with - his pappy is the ex-Tottenham Ayatollah, Omar Bakri Muhammad.
Dad's latest outbursts aren't helping the 25-year old Mr Fostock, who lives in Britain, as he trys to reclaim some £14,400 seized by police in 2005. Fils was trying to deliver the cash to père in his Lebanon home, Bakri's principle domicile since his leave to remain in Britain was curtailed
When the 25-year old was stopped at the airport, he was found to be in possession of a series of envelopes containing the money, marked - in a convenient aide-memoire - "Daddy", "mum", "Sheikh", and "spending money". While Fostock insisted these were Eid presents for his nearest and dearest to be distributed upon his arrival in Beirut, police claimed the money was intended to finance terror operations, and seized it under the Proceeds of Crime Act.
Is this a case, as one judge described it, of "the sins of the father being visited on the son"? Perhaps. Yet Mr. Fostock had no source of income at the time the money was seized. Moreover, he bought a ticket, in cash, just days before he left.
The hearing is likely to conclude this week.
Image from vanouxe's Flickrstream via the Londonist pool
