By Gloria De Piero, GMTV's Political Editor, 11/04/2009
AMERICAN president Barack Obama's half brother was REFUSED a visa to enter the UK after being accused of an attempted sex attack on a young British girl.
The News of the World can reveal that Kenya-based Samson Obama tried to get into Britain on his way to Washington for his family's big day, the historic inauguration in January.
But eagle-eyed immigration officials at East Midlands Airport, using the latest biometric tests, discovered he was linked to an incident here last November.
Details on the hi-tech database revealed that Samson-who manages a mobile phone shop just outside Nairobi -was in fact the same man who was arrested by police in Berkshire after he approached a group of young girls, including a 13 year-old, and allegedly tried to sexually assault one of them.
He then followed them into a cafe where he became aggressive and was asked to leave by the owner.
That's when police were called to the scene and Samson was arrested.
But he gave officers a false ID - claiming to be Henry Aloo, a genuine refugee and asylum seeker - and supplied his mother's address in Bracknell.
The UK's border controls are among the toughest in the world
Mum Kezia, 67, has lived in the town for six years. She married the US president's father Barack Obama Snr in Kenya when she was a teenager.
Following Samson's arrest he was fingerprinted but not formally charged and then left the country. However, all his details were stored on the Home Office's new database of prints and biometric details.
President ObamaAnd that's what finally pinpointed Samson's link to the world's most powerful leader-as he attempted to slip back into Britain to visit relatives en route to joining the two million crowd at the swearing-in ceremony.
The White House was informed and a Home Office source told the News of the World: "This was obviously an extremely sensitive issue when it was flashed up by the database.
"But the system is designed to flag up people who have come to the attention of the police in the UK and are then trying to return.
"This was a good example of how people who may be undesirable can be refused another visa."
It is thought that Samson Obama-one of the President's 11 half brothers and sisters by his father who had four partners -managed to travel on to Washington for the inauguration after boarding a connecting flight to the States from East Midlands.
He was able to do so despite not having a UK visa because he remained in transit and never left the airport.
Last night a Home Office spokesman confirmed Samson Obama was refused a visa after immigration officers noticed one of the documents he supplied with his visa application was false. That led them to make further inquiries.
A UK Border Agency spokesman said: "We consider all visa applications based on their merits. We will oppose the entry of individuals to the UK where we believe their presence is not conducive to the public good.
"The UK's border controls are among the toughest in the world. All visa applicants are fingerprinted and checked against watchlists.
"Using this hi-tech system we have detected more than 5,600 attempts to use false identities since December 2007.
"Our officers in 135 countries around the world are working with law enforcement agencies and airlines to clamp down on forged passports and visas."
AMERICAN president Barack Obama's half brother was REFUSED a visa to enter the UK after being accused of an attempted sex attack on a young British girl.
The News of the World can reveal that Kenya-based Samson Obama tried to get into Britain on his way to Washington for his family's big day, the historic inauguration in January.
But eagle-eyed immigration officials at East Midlands Airport, using the latest biometric tests, discovered he was linked to an incident here last November.
Details on the hi-tech database revealed that Samson-who manages a mobile phone shop just outside Nairobi -was in fact the same man who was arrested by police in Berkshire after he approached a group of young girls, including a 13 year-old, and allegedly tried to sexually assault one of them.
He then followed them into a cafe where he became aggressive and was asked to leave by the owner.
That's when police were called to the scene and Samson was arrested.
But he gave officers a false ID - claiming to be Henry Aloo, a genuine refugee and asylum seeker - and supplied his mother's address in Bracknell.
The UK's border controls are among the toughest in the world
Mum Kezia, 67, has lived in the town for six years. She married the US president's father Barack Obama Snr in Kenya when she was a teenager.
Following Samson's arrest he was fingerprinted but not formally charged and then left the country. However, all his details were stored on the Home Office's new database of prints and biometric details.
President ObamaAnd that's what finally pinpointed Samson's link to the world's most powerful leader-as he attempted to slip back into Britain to visit relatives en route to joining the two million crowd at the swearing-in ceremony.
The White House was informed and a Home Office source told the News of the World: "This was obviously an extremely sensitive issue when it was flashed up by the database.
"But the system is designed to flag up people who have come to the attention of the police in the UK and are then trying to return.
"This was a good example of how people who may be undesirable can be refused another visa."
It is thought that Samson Obama-one of the President's 11 half brothers and sisters by his father who had four partners -managed to travel on to Washington for the inauguration after boarding a connecting flight to the States from East Midlands.
He was able to do so despite not having a UK visa because he remained in transit and never left the airport.
Last night a Home Office spokesman confirmed Samson Obama was refused a visa after immigration officers noticed one of the documents he supplied with his visa application was false. That led them to make further inquiries.
A UK Border Agency spokesman said: "We consider all visa applications based on their merits. We will oppose the entry of individuals to the UK where we believe their presence is not conducive to the public good.
"The UK's border controls are among the toughest in the world. All visa applicants are fingerprinted and checked against watchlists.
"Using this hi-tech system we have detected more than 5,600 attempts to use false identities since December 2007.
"Our officers in 135 countries around the world are working with law enforcement agencies and airlines to clamp down on forged passports and visas."
