Omar Bakri: I taught suspect

The leader of Muslim fundamentalist group al-Muhajiroun today denied brainwashing one of the suspects.

Sheikh Omar Bakri Muhammad admitted that he had taught 22-year-old Omar Khayam from Crawley.

He added: "Omar left us in the spring of 2001, before September 11. People say he was brainwashed by Omar Bakri, but when he left he condemned our group and me personally.

"They were not interested in what we stood for. I believe in rational discussion and intelligent debate. His family knows I was not involved in what happened. What I said was that people who go abroad to fight for their country can't be condemned, and I stand by that. That is fine under Islamic law.

"But attacking people who you live side by side with, who are part of your community, is not.

"I don't recruit people to go abroad to fight. I want to teach people."

He accused the Government of staging high-profile arrests, adding: "They want to show the EU and the USA, and the British public, that they are doing something, to say, look we are making arrests. Of course they must be able to defend themselves but they did it the wrong way. It was like a publicity stunt.

"They call children, 16 or 17 years old, al Qaeda. I can't believe these children are linked to al Qaeda. The arrests show the Government don't know the right people.

"I find it hard to believe these men were plotting violence, they were normal young men, some of them used to be members of our organisation. I don't believe they could be involved in this sort of thing. However, if they are, they need to face reality.

"I believe in what I am fighting for, but I don't believe in violence of any kind." He continued: "Terrorism has now become the fashion of the world.

"We are seeing terror strikes in Spain, the US, and British Government terrorise people in Afghanistan, the Israelis terrorise the Palestinians.

"What happened yesterday is part of this new international phenomenon. Everyone is afraid, all society thinks it's under attack."