Sunday, July 11, 2010

Somali asylum seekers and British luxury

A family of former asylum-seekers from Somalia are living in a £2.1 million luxury townhouse in one of Britain's most exclusive addresses at a cost to British taxpayers of £8,000 a month. Abdi and Sayruq Nur and their seven children moved into their three-storey property in a fashionable area of London because they didn't like the 'poorer' part of the city they were living in. Nur, 42, an unemployed bus conductor, and his 40-year-old wife, who has never worked, are now living in Kensington despite the fact that they are totally dependent on state benefits. They live close to celebrities, including artist Lucian Freud, singer Damon Albarn and designer Stella McCartney, and their home is just minutes from the fashionable Kensington Place restaurant which was a favorite haunt of the late Princess Diana. The family's new home is believed to be one of the most expensive houses ever paid for by housing benefit, which is administered by local councils but funded by the Department for Work and Pensions.

No comments: