An alleged al-Qaeda terrorist said to be connected to Osama bin Laden has been freed to take regular walks in a park to stop him developing a fear of open spaces. The man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, is claimed to have once been a senior al-Qaeda instructor and one of the world's most wanted terrorists. He was arrested in connection with separate plots to blow up Los Angeles airport and the Christmas market in Strasbourg and is said to have "direct links to Osama bin Laden and other senior al-Qaeda figures". The government says he is a "leading organiser and facilitator of terrorist activity" and is trying to have him deported to his native Algeria but the Telegraph revealed last year that he was to be released on bail and put under a 24-hour curfew.
His bail conditions, similar to a control order, have now been varied to allow him twice weekly walks, for one hour, in a local park in a south coast town and go to a cafe, accompanied by one of four named supporters who have been given security clearance by MI5. The man's legal team claimed he was suffering from high blood pressure and was in danger of becoming agoraphobic - scared of open spaces - as he had not been outside often enough.
The Security Service objected to the proposal but a judge at the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (SIAC) ruled against them. Mr Justice Mitting told a hearing in central London, attended by the alleged terrorist: "I do not need to be reminded that this appellant is one of the greatest concerns of the Security Service and the commission."
He admitted there was a "great risk to national security and a modest risk of absconding" and said the man had "not disavowed his previous beliefs" but he said he was allowing the walks "out of consideration for humanity and appropriate consideration for the health of the appellant". He said the conditions under which the man was living were "the most draconian" ever imposed by SIAC, which also ordered the release on bail last year of the radical preacher Abu Qatada, said to be Osama bin Laden's "right hand man in Europe".
A legal order bans this newspaper from naming the town where he is living but we can reveal that he has a room in a house normally rented out to students. His landlord, a local councillor, told The Daily Telegraph: "I have let rooms for people at the university for many years and a friend rang and asked if I could take in an asylum seeker for a few months. It so happened that I had a room vacant so I said yes. He's just another student as far as I'm concerned."
SIAC has said there are "credible grounds" for believing the allegations against the man, referred to as "U", and said he was a "significant risk to national security". Now 45, he arrived in Britain from France in 1994 and claimed asylum but allegedly spent the late 1990s with al-Qaeda in Afghanistan. He was arrested in February 2001 at Heathrow trying to board a flight to Saudi Arabia on a false passport. It is claimed U met bin Laden at the Khalden training camp in Afghanistan which he is said to have helped run. He admits attending the training camp and meeting Ahmed Ressam, now in jail for the Los Angeles plot, but denies being part of any conspiracy.