Mother of Al Shabaab fighter felt let down by authorities

The mother of the latest Briton to be killed in fighting alongside extremist group al-Shabaab has expressed her discontent with the British authorities.

British extremist, Thomas Evans who traveled to Somalia to fight with al-Shabaab just two years after converting to Islam has been killed, according to reports. Evans, 25 left his village of Wooburn Green in 2011 after changing his name to Abdul Hakim.

His family says Evans had contacted them during his time in war-torn Somalia and informed them of his marriage to a 13-year-old Somali girl. Evans is thought to be the first British extremist to die with Al-Shabaab militants.

The mother of Thomas Evans, said she had asked MPs why there was a failure to stop her son from travelling to Egypt last February even though he had previously been stopped by police.

In a brief statement, Evans’s mother Sally said: “My son, Michael, and I are currently awaiting official confirmation regarding the death of my son Thomas. We cannot comment any further at this time and request the press respect our privacy.”

Reports suggest Evans had previously tried to fly to Kenya in February 2011 but was stopped by counter-terrorism police at Heathrow airport. He then made his second attempt to fly out via Egypt where he told his parents he would learn the Arabic language.

Ms. Evans said she had felt let down by the authorities who had failed to contact her.

“I wish that they had contacted us,” she told MPs. “I know he was 21, but as his mother and his brother, we could have helped them maybe, or if they had told us their concerns, we could have acted on it. We could have worked with them to help save Thomas.”

“For him to go to the airport a few months later and get on a plane to Egypt, no questions asked, it just seems like there is a failure somewhere,” Evans’s brother said.

“All the available data, including photographs, points to it being Thomas Evans. There is an investigation going on with forensics and DNA to confirm his identity,” he said.

A Foreign Office spokesman said: “We’re aware of reports of the death of a British national. We can’t confirm these at this time.”

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