Somalian refugees on benefits live in £1.8 million home

By Chris Irvine

Nasra Warsame, originally from Somalia, seven of her children and her mother moved into the six-bedroom home last month, while her husband Bashir Aden and an eighth child are living in a separate “overspill” property, also paid for by housing benefits.

The couple claimed asylum in Britain after leaving Somalia in 1991. They have since been granted citizenship and all their children, aged between two and 16, have been born here. The family moved into the 1960s development within walking distance of Edgware Road underground station while Mr Aden lives in Camden in a two-bedroom council flat, after their previous property in Maida Vale, northwest London, was considered too small.

Last year James Purnell, then Work and Pensions Secretary, promised to curb excessive housing costs. But it would appear the Warsame family are granted £1,600-a-week allowance, despite the going rate for properties in the Edgware Road area around half that figure.

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