By GB News (World News) | Created at 2026-09-25 07:06:02 | Updated at 2026-09-25 16:19:07
10 hours ago
Taxpayers are footing a £70,000 bill to renovate the £1.7million council house occupied by the family of convicted terrorist and Islamist hate preacher Abu Hamza.
The Edwardian property in Shepherd's Bush, west London, sits within a conservation area and boasts five bedrooms.
Hamza's eight children grew up in the home, which is now set to receive high-quality windows and doors crafted by specialist tradesmen, The Sun revealed.
Solar panels and loft insulation are also part of the planned upgrades.
The 68-year-old hook-handed extremist is currently imprisoned in a maximum-security facility in Colorado, serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole.
His wife, Najat Chaffe, 67, remains the sole registered occupant of the property.
A tenancy for life arrangement means the Labour-run Hammersmith and Fulham Council cannot remove her and is legally required to keep the home in good condition.
Jose Afonso, the Conservative opposition leader on the council, condemned the expenditure as "a disgusting waste of public money".
"Residents will be appalled to know that not only are we housing the families of terrorists, we are doing so in five-bedroom houses and paying for extensive upgrades," he said.
The 68-year-old hook-handed extremist is currently imprisoned in a maximum-security facility in Colorado
GETTY
A woman wearing a burka has believed to have been spotted placing recycling outside the £1.7million house.
Ms Chaffe took up residence at the address in 1995, and says she and Hamza had gone their separate ways.
She subsequently collected substantial welfare payments as the number of children in the household grew.
Three of Hamza's sons were later convicted and imprisoned for offences involving drugs, money laundering, and fraud.
Though the Egyptian-born cleric was never formally registered at the Shepherd's Bush address, he was spotted there on multiple occasions prior to his initial arrest in 2004.
The tenancy for life arrangement means Labour-run Hammersmith and Fulham Council cannot remove the Islamist's former wife
Hamza became notorious as a firebrand preacher at Finsbury Park Mosque, where he openly celebrated the September 11 attacks.
A British court convicted him in 2006 of inciting racial hatred and soliciting murder.
The following year, in 2007, judicial proceedings established that he had been the secret owner of a property in Greenford, west London, valued at £220,000, and had privately funded his children's school fees.
When a judge ordered him to repay £1million in legal aid costs, the cleric declared he possessed no assets and never settled the debt.
Hamza was subsequently extradited to the United States, where a New York court handed down a life sentence without parole in 2014.
Hamza became notorious as a firebrand preacher at Finsbury Park Mosque, where he openly celebrated the September 11 attacks
GETTY
His crimes included orchestrating the kidnapping of 16 tourists in Yemen, an operation that led to four hostages losing their lives.
He had also conspired to establish a terrorist training facility in the US state of Oregon.
Hammersmith and Fulham Council has insisted that it has a legal obligation to carry out improvements to around 1,000 properties.
A planning application for the works on the Shepherd's Bush home has been lodged but awaits approval.
The renovations are scheduled for completion by the end of 2030.
