Where is the outrage now? 'Virtue-signalling' celebrities who opposed plans to deport Jamaican criminal - who went on to murder man in brutal knife fight - remain silent as outraged MPs tell luvvies to 'think again'

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A slew of celebrities who protested against the deportation of a Jamaican criminal have kept silent after it was revealed he went on to commit murder in the UK. 

Ernesto Elliott was due to be aboard a Home Office charter flight in December 2020, but dodged efforts to remove him thanks to last-minute human rights appeals backed by Labour MPs and a host of celebrities.

But in June 2021 – six months after he was supposed to have been removed from Britain – Elliott murdered a 35-year-old man in a horrific knife fight.

Elliott was last month jailed for at least 26 years for murder.

Supermodel Naomi Campbell, Line of Duty actress Thandiwe Newton and soul singer Beverley Knight each spoke out against Elliott's deportation among other criminals. 

But tonight they made no comment about Elliott’s subsequent conviction for murder. Historian David Olusoga also did not respond to our questions.

Supermodel Naomi Campbell (left) and actress Thandiwe Newton (right) have made no comment since Elliott's crime was revealed

Soul singer Beverley Knight (left) and historian David Olusoga have also said nothing of Elliott's conviction

Labour MP Clive Lewis, who coordinated a letter against the removal flight in 2020, made no comment yesterday.

READ MORE: DEPORTATION FLIGHT TO JAMAICA TAKES JUST FOUR CRIMINALS ON BOARD 

 

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The letter was signed by fellow Labour politicians.

Former Home Secretary Priti Patel led the criticism of his blocked deportation today, backed by current Home Secretary Suella Braverman and Tory MP Chris Philp, Minister for State of Crime.

Speaking today at a Policy Exchange event, Patel said: 'I was heavily involved in that as home secretary at the time, and I'm afraid, as ever, we came up against various specialist immigration lawyers, Labour MPs but also celebrities who for some reason thought that they should stop a deportation flight of foreign national offenders going back to Jamaica, and that was completely wrong.

'So I'm afraid it is absolutely appalling that individual who should have been on the plane basically was taken off the flight and went on to commit murder.'

Braverman tweeted: 'This murderer should have been deported on a flight out of this country in 2020 but the courts blocked his removal after dozens of Labour MPs cried out it was an injustice. So much for their pledge to keep Britain’s streets safe.'

And Philp added: 'As Immigration Minister in Dec 2020 I tried to deport this dangerous criminal. But Labour MPs and various celebrities (including Naomi Campbell, Thandiwe Newton, Naomie Harris and David Olusoga) opposed the flight and most criminals were taken off the flight following legal challenges. 

Ernesto Elliott, right, killed Nathaniel Eyewu-Ago, on the left, in a knife fight

Elliott was last month jailed for at least 26 years for murder

'Months later, the man subsequently brutally murdered one of our fellow citizens. Labour MPs and virtue-signalling celebrities should think again.'

On June 2, 2021, Elliott was involved in the vicious knife fight in broad daylight in Greenwich, south-east London.

Alongside his son Nico, 23, Elliott robbed and murdered 35-year-old Nathaniel Eyewu-Ago in a row over drugs.

The horrifying incident was videoed by shocked neighbours. It shows Elliott, his son and another man repeatedly lunging with long-bladed knives and a hammer at the victim, who was armed with a machete.

Mr Eyewu-Ago collapsed after being stabbed through the heart and died in hospital six days later.

Onlookers who witnessed the bloody, eight-minute confrontation suffered 'significant trauma', police said.

It was a crime that would never have taken place if Elliott, 45, had been sent back to his birth country.

Priti Patel, who oversaw the attempt to remove Elliott when she was in charge of the Home Office, said the case showed why it was crucial to defy 'do-gooders' who try to block deportations

British Home Secretary Suella Braverman arrives at 10 Downing Street to attend a cabinet meeting, in London, Britain, 21 February 2023

Tory MPs used the opportunity to hit out at Labour MPs

Elliott was due to be on the chartered Boeing 757 on December 2, 2020, after being convicted of knife crime, police sources said. But he and 22 other serious criminals submitted last-minute appeals – including human rights claims – which led to them avoiding deportation to Jamaica.

The 23 criminals had been sentenced to a combined 156 years in jail. Their appeals came just days after 60 celebrities, authors and other public figures signed an open letter opposing the flight.

They included supermodel Naomi Campbell, Line Of Duty star Thandiwe Newton, James Bond actress Naomie Harris and historian David Olusoga. A host of Labour MPs also added their signatures.

Opposition MPs even compared the deportation flight to the Windrush scandal, even though the Caribbean migrants who suffered awful injustice in that episode had committed no crimes.

After a trial at the Old Bailey last month, Elliott, from Walthamstow, east London, was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 26 years and a concurrent sentence of 12 years for robbery. Keeping him in jail will cost the taxpayer more than £1.3million at current rates.

His son was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 22 years and a concurrent sentence of ten years for robbery.

Elliott was one of 23 criminals who avoided deportation to Jamaica

David Olusoga was among the 60 celebrities, authors and other public figures who signed an open letter opposing the flight

Detective Chief Inspector Kate Kieran said the father and son were 'prepared to use any form of violence necessary to protect their stolen property' after robbing the victim of drugs and cash.

She added that the crime had 'caused significant trauma to innocent members of the public who witnessed it'.

Former home secretary Ms Patel said: 'This case is exactly why we must continue to defy the protestations from the Labour Party, the do-gooding celebrities and immigration lawyers and remove convicted foreign criminals, rapists, murders, child abusers and drug dealers who have no right to be in this country.'

After avoiding deportation in 2020, Elliott is thought to have been released back on to the streets within weeks. The Home Office can detain foreign national offenders only if there is a 'realistic prospect of imminent removal'. 

Philp said at the time: 'It is disappointing that specialist immigration law firms continued to use last-minute tactics to remove a significant number of offenders from this flight. Those we are attempting to remove have committed crimes which have a devastating impact on victims and their families.' Another foreign criminal who avoided being sent back to Jamaica on the same flight was murderer Michael Antonio White.

He and accomplice Hopeton Alexander Pink received life sentences at London's Kingston Crown Court in 2003 after shooting a man six times at close range.

A Home Office spokesman said: 'Foreign national offenders who exploit our system and commit crimes here in the UK will face the full force of the law, including deportation at the earliest opportunity for those eligible. While legal challenges can frustrate immediate deportation, we remain resolute in our commitment to deport those who abuse our hospitality.'