Somali asylum seeker who entered UK illegally is accused of stabbing welfare officer five times at Surrey hotel

From the Newshound archive · first published 19 September 2026.

Abdifatah Yusuf Adani, a 22-year-old Somali national confirmed to have entered Britain illegally by small boat, appeared at Guildford Crown Court on Thursday as a provisional trial date was set for February 2027. Adani allegedly stabbed a welfare officer five times with a large kitchen knife at the Stanwell Hotel near Heathrow Airport on 15 August. The victim, a man in his 30s, suffered a blade wound that penetrated his chest cavity and lost a significant amount of blood before paramedics rushed him to hospital with life-threatening injuries.

Armed police were dispatched to the asylum hotel in Surrey after the attack, which occurred at around 18:30 BST.

Prosecutor Lucy Lumsden previously told Staines Magistrates' Court the victim was 'very pale and going in and out of consciousness' at the scene.

Adani was not asked to enter a plea at Thursday's hearing; a five-day trial is scheduled to begin on 15 February 2027.