Sir Mo Farah is “relieved” the Home Office will not be taking any action against him after he revealed he was “trafficked” into the UK as a child.
The four-time Olympic champion, 39, told a BBC documentary he was born Hussein Abdi Kahin.
“The truth is I’m not who you think I am,” he said as he explained how he was brought to the UK with a woman and her children under the name of another boy called Mohamed Farah.
The Home Office has the power to remove people’s British citizenship if it is found to have been obtained illegally.
But it said “no action whatsoever” would be taken against Sir Mo and “to suggest otherwise is wrong”.
Regarding the government’s response, Sir Mo told the BBC: “I feel relieved.”
He added: “This is my country. If it wasn’t for Alan [PE teacher Alan Watkinson] and the people that supported me throughout my childhood then maybe I wouldn’t even have the courage to be doing this.
“There’s a lot of people that have been very supportive, particularly my wife, throughout my career and gave me the strength to come and talk about it and telling me it’s okay to do this.”
The Metropolitan Police has said it is “assessing” Sir Mo’s allegations that he was trafficked into the UK as a child and forced to work as a domestic servant.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Scotland Yard said: “We are aware of reports in the media concerning Sir Mo Farah.
“No reports have been made to the MPS [Metropolitan Police Service] at this time.
“Specialist officers are currently assessing the available information.”
Sir Mo has said he got the motivation to reveal his past from his children.
In the documentary, he says he was “born in Somaliland, north of Somalia, as Hussein Abdi Kahin”.
He adds: “When I was four, my dad was killed in the civil war – you know as a family we were torn apart.
“I was separated from my mother and I was brought into the UK illegally under the name of another child called Mohamed Farah.”
The Real Mo Farah is now on BBC iPlayer and is on BBC One at 9pm on 13 July
