A SUSPECTED al-Qaeda chief detained in Britain has been freed on bail after penning a hand-written statement to show he has had a "change of heart" on terrorism.
The man, said by MI5 to have had links to Osama Bin Laden and a senior role in an Afghan terror training camp, has been let out to live with a pal.
One MP last night branded the decision "insane" while a terror expert called it "worrying".
The Algerian, who can be identified only as "U", was detained in 2001 after arriving in Britain from Afghanistan in 1999. He has been behind bars or under house arrest since.
| And why, exactly, must he be known only by an initial? |
"U" has been officially classified as an "active terrorist head of a group of individuals in the UK with an international reach".
MI5 believe he had direct links to recently shot former al-Qaeda chief Bin Laden AND terrorists plotting to bomb Strasbourg Cathedral in France and Los Angeles Airport.
Britain wants to deport him to Algeria, where he could be jailed, over fears he is a danger here.
| Certainly sounds dangerous. Certainly doesn't sound 'British'. Brits ought to deport him. If they can't send him to Algeria, send him to Gitmo. Or Ice Station Zebra. |
He is appealing to the Supreme Court against the move. His lawyers applied for his release on bail to the Special Immigration Appeals Commission.
Mr Justice Mitting, the judge in his case, said "U" had produced a written statement in which he "signalled a change of heart".
| Does he also have prostate cancer? Only three months to live? |
He said: "I am conscious, of course, that it may all be for show. But if it is for show, it has been the work of a highly-skilled actor.
"What he says in his statement is that he wished to have the chance to show 'how I and my world views have changed. I have seen the chaos and suffering caused by war and violence and want to see another way'."
Tory MP Douglas Carswell said: "This insane decision shows our courts have turned to mush."
Terrorism expert Neil Doyle added: "It is very worrying." The Home Office said: "We continue to seek the deportation of this individual." |