Running News Daily

Mo Farah: I was smuggled into UK and this isn’t my real name

Multiple Olympic and world champion reveals in BBC documentary that he was trafficked under a false name as a child

The Home Office has confirmed it will not be taking any action against Mo Farah following revelations in a BBC documentary that he was smuggled into the country as a child under a false name. “No action whatsoever will be taken against Sir Mo and to suggest otherwise is wrong,” said a statement.

The BBC programme, which is called The Real Mo Farah and which airs on Wednesday night, tells the story of the athlete being originally called Hussein Abdi Kahin but being illegally trafficked into Britain using the name of another child.

He had previously claimed he had left Somalia aged eight to join his father, after his parents made the decision to send three of their six children to London for the chance of a better life.

But in the BBC documentary the 39-year-old admits he was brought to London by a stranger under an assumed name.

“Most people know me as Mo Farah, but it’s not my name or it’s not the reality,” he says. “The real story is I was born in Somaliland, north of Somalia, as Hussein Abdi Kahin. Despite what I’ve said in the past, my parents never lived in the UK.”

In the programme he adds: “When I was four my dad was killed in the civil war, you know as a family we were torn apart. I was separated from my mother, and I was brought into the UK illegally under the name of another child called Mohamed Farah.”

Farah said he and his twin, Hassan, were sent by their mother to live with an uncle in neighbouring Djibouti and that he would be taken to Europe and renamed Mohamed. “As a kid, you never think beyond what you’ve been told,” he says.

But on arriving in England, he says: “I had all the contact details for my relative and once we got to her house, the lady took it off me and right in front of me ripped them up and put it in the bin, and at that moment I knew I was in trouble.”

After London 2012 he brought out an autobiography that talked about growing up in Djibouti near the border with Somalia but he has now decided to talk about something which has always been buried in his past.

“I’ve been keeping it for so long, it’s been difficult because you don’t want to face it and often my kids ask questions, ‘Dad, how come this?’ And you’ve always got an answer for everything, but you haven’t got an answer for that.”

In the documentary, Farah says he has concerns about his immigration status. But the Home Office has confirmed that he would not face any repercussions. “No action whatsoever will be taken against Sir Mo and to suggest otherwise is wrong,” a spokesperson said.

The documentary, which was a year in the making, ends with Farah speaking to the real Mohamed Farah, whose identity he took entering the UK, before adding Farah will continue to go by the name he was given when he entered the UK. There have also been unsuccessful attempts to speak to the woman who trafficked Farah to England.

The story has received widespread coverage, featuring on many of the front pages of British newspapers on Tuesday. Among the many people to comment, Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “Everything Sir Mo has survived proves he’s not only one of our greatest Olympians but a truly great Briton. Thank you for sharing your story and shining a spotlight on these awful crimes. We must build a future where these tragic events are never repeated.”