Jihadi fighting to stay in Britain given £250k legal aid

A Jordanian jihadi living in the UK, who cannot be identified, is using legal aid to help in his fight against deportation

A terrorist fighting deportation has won £250,000 in legal aid despite being caught with jihadi manuals on attacking nightclubs and airports.

The extremist, who cannot be identified, was granted the taxpayer funds even though he was described in court as the 'very model of a modern Al Qaeda terrorist'.

He is using some of the money to try to stay in the country following a nine-year prison sentence. He claims throwing him out would breach his human rights.

The payments are particularly alarming following the atrocities in Westminster, Manchester and London Bridge that cost 35 innocent lives.

And the election result has cast doubt on Theresa May's pledge to tear up the Human Rights Act in cases where it blocks the deportation of extremists.

The terrorist who has been granted legal aid came to England illegally in the months after the September 11 attacks as a 'sleeper agent' for a group linked to Al Qaeda.

The Jordanian claimed asylum by pretending to have fled the Middle East in fear of his life.

The claim was dismissed and he should have been deported. But he managed to stay and evade authorities simply by using a fake name. He was given a council house with his wife and claimed at least £100,000 in benefits.

The terrorist was arrested after a bank tipped off police about unusual activity on his account.

On his home computers, police found terror manuals detailing how to carry out bombings, with guidance on 'suitable targets' including airports and nightclubs.

The terrorist was found with instructions on how to make a bomb, a list of targets for attacks and instructions of setting up a terror cell linked to Al Muhajiround, the banned group led by jailed hate preacher Anjem Choudary (pictured)

He also had instructions on setting up a terror cell linked to Al Muhajiroun, the proscribed group. It is led by Anjem Choudary, the jailed hate preacher, and was supported by Khuram Butt, one of the London Bridge murderers.

The jihadi was convicted of six counts of possessing material for a purpose connected with terrorism and sent to jail.

A judge said his crimes were some of the most serious before the courts. But since completing his sentence, the Government has failed to deport him.

He was refused refugee status by the Home Office but has launched continued appeals through the courts.

He has gained from £253,000 in taxpayer-funded legal aid since his arrival in the country, according to figures released to the Daily Mail under the Freedom of Information Act.

More than £210,000 covered the costs of defending the initial criminal case against him. Almost £40,000 has paid for lawyers working on other cases, including his deportation.

Philip Davies, Tory MP for Shipley, said the case showed the need for legislation to make it easier to deport terrorists.

He added: 'It's bad enough that we are finding it difficult to kick out somebody who may do us terrible harm, but it's an absolute kick in the teeth to be forking out such colossal sums for his legal bills.

'This is why we need to be looking at the Human Rights Act.' The terrorist is currently living with family and must wear a tag and comply with strict conditions banning him from transport hubs such as international railway stations and airports.

He also cannot own computer equipment or a mobile phone.

The disturbing revelation, under Freedom of Information law, comes after Westminster, Manchester and London Bridge (pictured) attacks which claimed the lives of 36 people

Terrorists often cannot be identified by the press in case it causes them to come to harm when they are eventually deported to their home countries. Being in danger at home could lead to them having fresh grounds to apply for asylum in the UK.

They can be named only if they choose to waive their anonymity, as was the case with Abu Qatada, who Mrs May, then home secretary, managed to have deported following a ten-year legal battle.

The terrorist's lawyer Daniel Furner, of Birnberg Peirce, said: 'There is no association whatsoever between my client and Khuram Butt.

'The bulk of our costs related to demonstrating that the Home Office had been wrong to say my client would not be tortured on return to Jordan. The Home Office now accepts we were right about that.'

The Home Office and Ministry of Justice declined to comment. The terrorist was jailed for nine years at Manchester Crown Court, but released after five years inside.

He argues that if he were deported to Jordan he would be tortured. Under Article 3 of the Human Rights Act the UK is forbidden to deport where there is a real risk of someone being tortured or subjected to ill treatment in their destination country.

A lawyer for the Home Office had said the terrorist's links with other jihadis and his use of aliases made him 'in many ways, the very model of a modern Al Qaeda terrorist' – echoing the major-general's song in Gilbert and Sullivan's Pirates of Penzance.