A convicted killer has been recalled to prison following reports that he released rap music about his murder of a schoolboy.
Jake Fahri, then 19, was given a life sentence in 2009 with a minimum term of 14 years for killing schoolboy Jimmy Mizen by throwing an oven dish at him.
The glass dish shattered and severed blood vessels in 16-year-old Jimmy’s neck in a south London bakery on May 10 2008. Witnesses reported seeing Fahri swaggering from the shop with a smile.
The Sun newspaper has claimed that Fahri, now 35, is masked drill artist TEN – who was showcased on BBC 1Xtra.
Recall was initiated for Fahri on Thursday after he was found to have breached his licence conditions, the Probation Service confirmed.
A spokesperson for the service said: “Our thoughts are with Jimmy Mizen’s family who deserve better than to see their son’s murderer shamelessly boasting about his violent crime.
“All offenders released on licence are subject to strict conditions. As this case shows, we will recall them to prison if they break the rules.”
In one of TEN’s tracks available on Spotify and YouTube, the balaclava-clad rapper appears to reference Jimmy’s death, the Sun said.
TEN’s lyrics included the lines: “Stuck it on a man and watched him melt like Ben and Jerry’s. Sharpen up my blade I’ve got to keep those necessary.
“Stay alert and kept it ready, any corner could be deadly. Judge took a look at me, before the trial even started he already knows he’s gonna throw the book at me.”
Another track published by TEN said: “See a man’s soul fly from his eyes and his breath gone.”
It adds: “I wanted more, it made it less wrong. Seeing blood spilled same floor he was left on.”
Fahri was released on licence in June 2023 and his music was played on BBC 1Xtra less than 18 months later, the Sun reported, adding that DJ Theo Johnson named him an “up-and-coming star”.
After the news broke about the content of TEN’s lyrics, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer voiced concern about the “the significant additional stress that this will have caused to the family”, his official spokesman said.
Jimmy’s father, Barry Mizen, told the PA news agency that parole statements said Fahri had “done all the programmes” but that “doesn’t seem to have made a blind bit of difference”.
“I think it does strike quite a few questions about the whole (prison) system – what’s the point, you know?”
Mr Mizen added: “I think there’s some questions there certainly for the parole board.
“We hope they’ve made the right decision, only time will tell, and perhaps they haven’t made the right decision.”
He feared prisoners may be taking rehabilitative courses just to be released earlier, without properly learning the lessons.
“If you’ve done 15 years in prison and nothing has changed – and it appears nothing has changed (in Fahri’s case) – then we’ve got to consider what is the point of this? Is this something that needs to be looked at again?”, he said.
Prison courses should “absolutely carry on”, he added.
He and Jimmy’s mother, Margaret Mizen, made headlines for their positivity in the wake of the murder.
Mrs Mizen was due to speak at a school on Friday with a message of “forgiveness, peace and hope”, her husband said.
Forgiving Fahri helps the family to “manage the pain in our lives”, he added.
Mr Mizen went on to criticise the BBC for failing to properly check TEN’s music.
“At the very least you think you’d listen to the content?” he said, adding: “This shouldn’t have happened. Images and reputations are built up. The bottom line is, this is someone promoting violence, and that can’t be right.”
Sir Keir’s spokesman said: “When it comes to the BBC, obviously they are independent of Government, they make their own editorial decisions.
“But the BBC, I think the public would rightly expect given their unique responsibilities to the public, that they would take complaints and any allegations like these seriously.”
The BBC said in a statement on Thursday: “This individual does not feature on any BBC playlists, we have never played – as we pointed out to the Sun – the lyrics they have printed.
“He’s had two other tracks played twice. 1Xtra has no further plans to play his music, we were not aware of his background and we in no way condone his actions.”