UK's Burnham urged to address alleged UAE plot against British academic

UK's Burnham urged to address alleged UAE plot against British academic Submitted by MEE staff on Tue, 09/01/2026 - 13:51 UAE allegedly funded an operation to surveil British-Muslim activist Anas Altikriti, with a mercenary reportedly discussing killing him Britain's Prime Minister Andy Burnham leaves from 10 Downing Street in central London on 1 September 2026 (AFP) Off A British academic has written to Prime Minister Andy Burnham asking for his response to a report alleging that the United Arab Emirates ordered a covert surveillance operation aiming to kill him in London. An ITV News investigation last month reported that the UAE paid millions of dollars to a mercenary to target Anas Altikriti, the chief executive of the London-based Cordoba Foundation think tank. Abraham Golan, a dual Hungarian-Israeli citizen who ran the private security company Spear Operations Group, allegedly travelled to Britain in December 2016 to target Altikriti.