A Briton held in Zambia on suspicion of terrorism will be deported to the UK, the country's president has said. UK police deny reports that Mr Haroon Rashid Aswat, 30, of West Yorkshire, is wanted over the 7 July London bombings. But they have said he is of interest in other inquiries. The US wants to speak to him about an alleged plot to set up an al-Qaeda training camp in Oregon. Mr Aswat's family fear he could end up in US detention at Guantanamo Bay. Zambian President Levy Mwanawasa told a news conference: "We have discussed with the governments of the US and Britain and we have finally agreed that Mr Aswat must be deported to Britain because that is his country." At the weekend, Mr Aswat's family called on the UK Government to intervene in his case. "Press reports are reporting unnamed British officials in discussions with the US Government over extradition of Haroon," they said in a statement. "Yet our government and the FCO are dilly-dallying and do not have the decency to confirm Haroon's detention."
The Foreign Office said on Wednesday it had obtained agreement from the Zambian authorities to gain consular access to a British national in custody. But a spokesman refused to comment on the reports that name him or confirm if the man is to be deported to the UK. An extradition agreement does exist between the UK and Zambia, and if an extradition request was made it would be considered under those terms, he said.
Mr Aswat is being held in the central prison in Zambia's capital, Lusaka. The Zambian authorities said he was arrested on 20 July, after having entered the country on 6 July.
It is believed US authorities requested his detention because they want to question him about a 1999 plot to set up an al-Qaeda training camp in Bly, Oregon. James Ujaama, 38, a Muslim convert from Seattle who has lived in Britain, pleaded guilty to involvement in the US training camp plot in April 2003. He faced up to 25 years in prison but received a two-year sentence after agreeing to co-operate with federal investigations.