When I saw Bilal Abdulla’s name in the news, I recognised it immediately, though it took me a while to be completely sure it was the man I remembered. It wasn’t long before I was certain. This was the same Bilal whom I had known closely when I was a student at Cambridge.
I was born in Birmingham, although my parents were originally from Pakistan. When I was three months old my family moved to Saudi Arabia, where my dad had got a job as an accountant, but when I was 14 they sent me back to Britain to give me a better education. I attended Solihull School and lived with my grandparents.
Subscribe to The New Statesman today from only £8.99 per month
Content from our partners
