Abu Hamza's wife still living in £1m council house

Neighbours of hate preacher Abu Hamza today urged his wife to vacate their £1 million London council home to make way for young families.

Najat Mostafa, 53, still lives in the five-bedroom home in Shepherds Bush where the couple raised their eight children, despite six of their offspring having left, according to residents.

Her Egyptian-born husband, 54, was extradited to the US on Friday with four other suspects to face terror charges after his protracted legal battle through European courts to stay in the UK on health grounds.

Now, residents and the local MP want Mrs Mostafa to “downsize” and make way for others in need of housing.

There are more than 10,000 people on Hammersmith and Fulham council’s waiting list and the council says that “under occupation” is a growing problem.

The Standard understands council housing officers are negotiating with Moroccan-born Mrs Mostafa to move into a smaller property.

On Saturday, her husband made his first appearance in a New York court facing charges over the 1998 kidnapping of Western tourists in Yemen, in which three Britons died.

He is also charged with supporting the establishment of a terror training camp in Oregon and facilitating violent jihad in Afghanistan.

Neighbour Nur Shaman, 62, who is retired, said: “I think that she should be moved. Tax payers should not have to pay lots of money to give her a big house she doesn’t need.”

Madeleine Shaman added: “Her kids are grown up and everyone needs to downsize these days so it is only fair that she should too.

“It isn’t right that she gets a big house that she doesn’t need and she needs to move and make way for a new young family.”

Vanessa Kyle, 42, a nurse, said: “If she hasn’t got any dependants then yes she should definitely be moved and one of the families on the waiting list should get it.

“But it can be very disruptive for family life so if she is moved I think she should be rehoused in the area.

“We very rarely see her, they keep themselves to themselves as a family.”

Residents also include former Labour work and pensions Secretary John, now Baron, Hutton.

Mrs Mostafa moved into the property in 1995 after claiming she had separated from her husband.

Hamza never officially lived in the home, and does not appear on the electoral roll, but neighbours said he was regularly seen there until his arrest in 2004 for incitement to murder and racial hatred.

Greg Hands, Tory MP for Chelsea and Fulham, said: “There’s a lot of large families looking for this sort of housing, who would show a lot more gratitude than the Hamza family to have that chance.

“There’s a big issue in Hammersmith and Fulham of young families with parents sleeping on sofas and teenage children of different sexes sharing a bedroom - a lot of situations that are far from ideal.”

There was no answer at the Mostafa family’s door today.

Under new council rules starting in April, Hammersmith and Fulham council will limit tenancies to five years, but this will not affect the Mostafa family.