Romanian immigrant who raped a woman three months after arriving in Britain was allowed to enter the country despite conviction for similar attack in his homeland

A Romanian immigrant raped and battered a woman in a brutal sex attack just three months after arriving in Britain.

Questions are being asked as to why George-Josif Blaj, 20, was allowed into the country in December last year, despite the fact he had been jailed for rape and burglary offences in Romania.

Within three months of moving to Northampton, he subjected a woman in her 20s to a harrowing assault in her own home on February 1.

A court heard the victim found Blaj standing over her bed clutching a garden spade after he had broken in through a downstairs window at 7am.

After throttling her until she was unconscious, Blaj waited for the woman to wake up before attacking her with the spade and then raping her.

He only stopped the 'gratuitous and completely unnecessary' attack when police arrived at her home after her worried housemates dialled 999.

Blaj was arrested nearby and pleaded guilty to assault, burglary and rape - as well as asking for a burglary at a mosque in Northampton to be taken into consideration.

He was given an extended sentence of 15 years - comprising of 11 years in custody and four years on licence - at Northampton Crown Court on August 22.

Sentencing Blaj - who will be deported following his jail term - Judge Rupert Mayo said: 'She was an ordinary young woman who went to bed and woke up to a nightmare.  'This has left the victim with permanent psychological scarring.

'What makes this case more disturbing is your young age and your previous convictions for rape and burglary in Romania.

'I am told you have no memory of the events and that you consumed illegal drugs and alcohol before you entered the house.'

The court heard the victim was so traumatised she had since left the country to start a new life abroad.

It also emerged that Blaj had been previously convicted of rape in his native Romania when he was aged 16.

And speaking after the case, Michael Ellis, MP for Northampton North, blasted authorities for letting the rapist into Britain so easily.

He said: 'This is another appalling example of a person who has been permitted to enter the UK despite the fact that his presence was against the public’s interest.

'The question needs to be asked why the Romanian authorities did not inform the UK that this person should not be permitted entry.'

A Home Office spokesperson said people travelling to the UK were checked against a range of watch-lists but said the onus for flagging someone’s criminal history lay with the authorities in their home country.

They added: 'Where we receive information that foreign nationals present a genuine threat to society, we are able to take action to prevent their entry to the UK.'

In April this year, Lithuanian immigrant Gintas Burinskas, 36, was jailed for raping a woman just one month after arriving in the UK.

He raped and attacked the 32-year-old victim in Northampton on Boxing Day last year, only five months after he finished a 10-year sentence in his home country for rape.

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'Insulting and inaccurate': Jamie Oliver faces fierce backlash over his claim that young British workers are 'lazier' than Europeans

Mr Oliver's view is widely shared in Australia.  Australians know the English well.  About 5% of  the Australian population is English-born and Australians have often spent some time in England.  Some English people are of course willing workers but many are not

Jamie Oliver has received a barrage of criticism after his attack on young British workers branding them lazy compared with his 'tougher' immigrant staff.

The 38-year-old celebrity chef sparked outrage yesterday after he claimed that his restaurant empire would be forced to close if he had to rely only on Britons.

Chefs, political groups and the general public lined up to defend British workers saying they are hard-working and reliable.

Migration Watch vice-chairman Alp Mehmet said it was unfair to compare immigrants desperate for a job with young Britons trying to establish a career.

'Jamie Oliver is simply wrong,' he told MailOnline. 'It wasn't that long ago that he was a young British worker.  'This generalisation is wrong and it's damaging.  'Hundreds of thousands of young British people are very hard-working and bright and desperate for a job.'

A spokesman for UKIP echoed his comments: 'To simply say that British workers aren't as good as European or foreign workers is insulting and inaccurate. There might be some workers that give British workers a bad name but it's not the vast majority.'

Fellow celebrity chef Antony Worrall Thompson insisted Brits were often better.  He told the Mirror: 'A lot of European staff are good workers, but they don't have that passion for food.

'When I find a young Brit I find them incredibly creative and enthusiastic. The country needs young people to train as there aren't enough young British chefs. We need to encourage them, rather than knock them.'

Essex-born Oliver, who worked his way up from the kitchen in his father’s Essex pub, said working an 80 to 100-hour week was 'really normal' when he started his career.  But he said young British workers nowadays don't have the same work ethic.

'The EU regulation now is 48 hours, which is half a week’s work for me. And they still whinge about it!' he said.

‘British kids particularly, I have never seen anything so wet behind the ears. I have mummies phoning up for 23-year-olds saying to me, “My son is too tired.” On a 48-hour-week! Are you having a laugh?

‘I think our European immigrant friends are much stronger, much tougher. If we didn’t have any, all of my restaurants would close tomorrow. There wouldn’t be any Brits to replace them.’

But several British chefs voiced their disagreement.

Chef Sam Carlton, who works at a brasserie in Halifax, wrote on Twitter: 'I'm a British female chef who works over 48hrs and doesn't whinge. Don't tarnish us all.'

Chef Mike Counsel said: 'So Jamie Oliver employs immigrants because British workers are soft? Is he for real? ‏The guy has forgotten his roots and should be ashamed'

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