Home Office staff have been ordered to flag Palestinian asylum claims for 'reputational risk' checks after a former bodyguard to the leader of Hamas was allowed to stay in the UK.

Mr X, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was reportedly granted asylum in 2015 and then British citizenship despite having worked in the personal security detail of Ismail Haniyeh, who led the terror group in Gaza from 2007 to 2017.

A married father in his forties, he now faces extradition to Germany over allegations he used his time in Britain to plot an anti-Semitic terror attack timed to coincide with the second anniversary of the October 7 attacks.

The security screening process for asylum seekers is under increased scrutiny after Shabana Mahmood used a speech at the Labour conference to relaunch a resettlement scheme for people fleeing warzones, including Palestinians.

The Home Secretary said restarting the UK Resettlement Scheme was necessary to help 'save the lives of those fleeing war and persecution'. But Tory leader Kemi Badenoch accused her of 'caving to pressure' and claimed new arrivals would be able to use human rights laws to bring their entire families to the UK.

Another existing route into the UK for Palestinians is the Gaza medical evacuation scheme, which was launched last August and is intended to allow seriously ill children into the country for medical treatment, alongside their immediate families.

After the case of Mr X was reported by the press over the weekend, the Home Office sent out an urgent alert to staff ordering them to notify senior officials if they received asylum claims from any of the families who had been flown to Britain as part of the evacuation scheme. 

Asylum caseworkers have been told to make a High Profile Notification, which is intended to alert senior staff and the press office to any cases that could embarrass the Home Office if made public.

An insider with direct knowledge of the asylum process believes the warning was prompted by negative headlines over the Mr X case at the weekend.

They said it was proof officials feared some family members of the child victims may later be found to have links to Hamas.

'They took all these people in on the medical scheme, knowing many would claim and be granted asylum,' the source said.

'Ordinarily they'd just allow this to happen. But now, because of the Hamas bodyguard story, they want HPN referrals.

'This is not to investigate whether a person is or isn't Hamas, but to prepare themselves for when someone linked to the scheme comes into the public eye.

'It might take years to emerge, but there's little reason to believe more cases like the Hamas bodyguard won't arise.'

The insider accused officials of doing little to check whether asylum seekers were linked to Hamas aside from simply asking them.

'All they can do is ask whether they have ever been involved in Hamas politics or violence, and they will of course say no. No one is going to admit to involvement.

'This is not proactive, this is reactive, like everything else in immigration.'

The allegation was strongly denied by the Home Office, which insisted asylum caseworkers do not accept claims at face value and subject applicants to a thorough interview and detailed assessment.

Asylum decisions are also subject to quality assurance checks. The Home Office said its data shows that 93 per cent of decisions meet official standards.

A Home Office spokesman said: 'We do not comment on leaks or speculation.

'We will never hesitate to use the full range of powers and tools available to investigate asylum claims and safeguard national security.

'In line with the Refugee Convention, we will deny the benefits of refugee status to those who are a threat to national security.'

Mr X left Gaza in 2012 and arrived in Britain by 2015 before being granted asylum, according to The Sunday Times. 

He could now be extradited to Germany over claims he orchestrated a terror plot against Israeli diplomats, pro-Israel demonstrations and Jewish communities in Germany and Austria in October 2025.

The attacks he is accused of helping to plan were intended to coincide roughly with the second anniversary of the October 7 attacks, which claimed the lives of around 1,200 people.

National Crime Agency officers arrested Mr X in central London last November after reports of the alleged plot reached Mossad and German intelligence and security agencies. 

He also faces trial in the UK over a separate criminal case. If convicted, he will receive a custodial sentence before being extradited to Germany on charges of procuring arms for Hamas.

In a separate immigration scandal, a Palestinian small-boat migrant who called for the deaths of all Jews was found to be living in taxpayer-funded asylum accommodation.

Abu Wadee, 34, was jailed last year after he was exposed by The Mail on Sunday as having arrived in the UK in a small boat in March 2025.

Following his release from prison in December, Wadee was housed in an HMO property in Corby, Northamptonshire, alongside three other migrants under the Home Office's asylum dispersal scheme.

He was traced to the house earlier this week, where he claimed he no longer supported Hamas, had Jewish friends and wanted to remain in the UK.

But earlier this week, the militant was driven away from the house in a taxi under the watchful gaze of two Northamptonshire Police officers – and a man who identified himself as a housing officer and had been seen loading belongings into the car.

It is understood that Home Office officials are seeking to remove him from the country.