MP urges tougher sentences for knifepoint robbers

An MP has backed calls for more severe punishments for two teenagers who robbed a classmate at knifepoint and shared footage of the attack on social media.

Zain Khan and Nahid Ali, both 19, from Keighley, were given suspended sentences after they threatened a teenager with a knife, beat him and made him transfer more than £800 into Khan's bank account.

Keighley and Ilkley MP Robbie Moore said he had written to the Attorney General Ellie Reeves asking her to consider the sentences be reviewed under the Unduly Lenient Sentence scheme.

"Given the horrendous nature of the crimes committed, I find it extremely difficult to understand how both perpetrators were able to walk free from court," he said.

"I speak for many of my constituents in saying that I have deep concerns about the sentences given to both the perpetrators.

"In my opinion, the suspended sentences handed down to these two individuals are wholly disproportionate to the severity of the offences committed."

A spokesperson for the Attorney General's Office said it had received several requests for the sentences to be referred.

"We have received multiple requests for the sentences of Zain Khan and Nahid Ali to be considered under the Unduly Lenient Sentence (ULS) scheme," they said.

"The law officers have 28 days from sentencing to carefully consider the case and make a decision."

Khan and Ali lured the victim from Craven College in Skipton, North Yorkshire, to nearby Airedale Park on 6 March 2024, where he was attacked and robbed.

Khan and Ali both admitted robbery at Bradford Crown Court on 7 August and Khan also admitted possessing a knife.

Khan was given a two-year jail sentence suspended for two years and a nine-month sentence for possessing a knife, suspended for two years, while Ali was given a 20-month sentence, also suspended for two years.

Moore said the victim had been subjected to a "frightening and degrading ordeal".

"The fact that a victim can endure such an appalling ordeal and those responsible can leave court without serving a day in prison sends entirely the wrong message about the seriousness with which violent robbery and knife crime are treated in our country," he said.

Khan and Ali were ordered to complete 240 and 200 hours of unpaid work respectively.

Two other teenagers who were involved in the attack were dealt with at an earlier hearing and ordered to pay compensation.

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