Why didn’t the Vast Majority of Moderatesâ„¢ in the mosque turn him over to police? “Terrorist suspect flees police in mosque,” by Daniel McGrory and Richard Ford in the TimesOnline, with thanks to Ben:
A British-born terror suspect was on the run last night after breaking his control order and evading police by taking shelter in a mosque.
The man, aged 26, is thought to have escaped abroad after claiming that he wanted to undertake terror training in Afghanistan.
His disappearance is a further embarrassment for John Reid, the Home Secretary, as he is the third terror suspect under a control order to escape in less than six months.
It raises serious questions about the effectiveness of the orders, which were introduced by Government in 2005 and are designed to control and monitor terrorist suspects who can’t be prosected or deported from Britain.
Opposition MPs last night demanded that the suspect be identified. Currently there is an anonymity order in place and the Government has not applied to overturn it.
The man, who is of Pakistani origin and lives in Manchester, was only placed under the control order this month. But within four days he disappeared. Police sources say that the man failed to show up at a local police station to surrender his passport. He was traced to a nearby mosque, where community leaders say he had sought sanctuary. Police rarely enter a mosque: they began discussions with both local community figures and leading officials connected to the mosque.
It is understood that while these talks were taking place, the young suspect was helped to escape through a back entrance while officers from Greater Manchester Police were stationed outside.