Somalia-born British athletics legend Mo Farah says he was trafficked to the UK as a child

The British long-distance runner and the most successful British track athlete in modern Olympic Games history, Sir Mo Farah has revealed he was illegally “trafficked” into the United Kingdom under the name of another child.

The four-time Olympic champion said in a BBC documentary he was born Hussein Abdi Kahin, brought to the UK with a woman and her children under the name of another boy called Mohamed Farah.

Farah, who completed the 5,000m-10,000m double at both the London 2012 and Rio 2016 Olympics, has previously said he came to the UK as a refugee from Somalia with his parents.

But in stunning revelations the 39-year-old now says his parents have never been to the UK. He said his father was killed in civil unrest in Somalia when Farah was four years old and his mother and two brothers live in Somaliland.

The first British track and field athlete to win four Olympic golds, said his children motivated him to tell the truth about his past.

While narrating his ordeal, Mo says the woman who flew with him to the UK told him he was being taken to live with relatives and to say his name was Mohamed as she had fake travel documents that showed his photo next to the name “Mohamed Farah”.

Farah says he was forced to do housework and childcare.

The Somalia-born British athlete disclosed it was athletics that enabled him to escape what he went through.

The athlete has been praised by Britain’s Refugee Council charity for telling his heartbreaking story.