Judge’s fury at terrorist’s UK refuge
ONE of Britain’s most senior judges voiced his anger yesterday after hearing how a terrorist convicted of an airport bombing got thrown out of France but was able to find refuge here.
Britain has been forced to look after the Algerian for more than a decade because he cannot be sent home to face the death penalty.
Now the man, identified only as AH in court, is using thousands of pounds of taxpayers’ money fighting for asylum as he is technically stateless.
Appeal Court judge Lord Justice Alan Ward revealed his bewilderment that he got into Britain after his ejection from France. He said: “It may seem astonishing to many that the French courts were able to seek to exclude this appellant but that the United Kingdom may be obliged to tolerate his presence in our midst. How could that come about?”
Tory MP Peter Bone last night hit out at the “absurd” situation. He said: “How we let this man into the country in the first place is beyond my comprehension.
“People are fed up to the back teeth with terrorists coming to this country and being allowed to stay here. We should deport these people first and worry about the consequences later.”
How we let this man into the country in the first place is beyond my comprehension
AH, 49, was convicted in his absence in 1993 in Algeria of taking part in a bomb attack at Algiers airport that claimed nine lives and left 100 wounded. He was expelled from France after serving two years jail for belonging to a terrorist group and using fake papers.
AH was appealing against a British tribunal’s refusal to grant him asylum. The Appeal Court sent the case back to the tribunal for a rehearing.