'Terror link' to London charity

A London-based Islamic charity has had its bank account frozen following claims it has close ties with Osama bin Laden, it emerged today.

The International Development Foundation (IDF), which has offices in Curzon Street, was said in a French parliamentary report to have "points of contact" with Bin Laden's al Qaeda terrorist network.

Following an investigation by the Charity Commission it was forced to freeze its bank accounts last week. A court order was issued demanding full disclosure of IDF accounts and records. A spokesman for the Commission said: "Following two meetings with the charity it is clear that they will not co-operate fully."

It is the first charity to face such an investigation since 11 September.

The Charity Commission believes that the IDF, which has two accounts said to contain £25,000, has connections with Kahlid bin Mahfouz, a Saudi businessman said to have welcomed Bin Laden into a mansion he owned in Buckinghamshire.

Charity trustees Mohammed, Saleh, Abdelelah and Ahmed bin Mahfouz are reported to have denied knowledge of Kahlid - their brother - when first approached by investigators. The four are based in Saudi Arabia and have registered addresses at the Saudi Economic and Development Company that controls the IDF and which also has offices in Curzon Street. Meanwhile US military police are today preparing to hand over American Taliban member John Walker Lindh to civil authorities for prosecution. Lindh, 20, faces life in prison after being charged with four counts of aiding terrorism, including conspiring to murder American citizens abroad.

George Bush can now focus on the 50 al Qaeda prisoners being held on a US naval base in Cuba. All could face the death penalty if tried by military tribunals. British authorities are still in talks with the US government over access to the three prisoners who have identified themselves as Britons.

Foreign Secretary Jack Straw has spoken to US secretary of state Colin Powell about their treatment. But US defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld said those held at Guantanamo Bay were "the hardest of the hard core" and added: "I do not feel the slightest concern over their treatment."

British consular staff are today hoping to gain access to a Scottish charity worker being held in a Pakistani jail.

James Andrew McLintock, 37, originally from Dundee and now known as Yaqub Mohammed, is believed to have been arrested on the Afghan border and was originally suspected of being a member of al Qaeda. But the FBI is reported to have discounted the allegation.

Pakistani prosecutors are thought to be close to charging Mr McLintock with breaching laws which prohibit travel in sensitive areas and he could face three years in jail. British officials in Islamabad have made contact with Mr McLintock and said he is in good health.

In Afghanistan troops have embarked on a fresh hunt for al Qaeda terrorists holed up in cave complexes.

Several hundred marines at a time have begun scouring for stragglers near the eastern village of Zawar. Some of the men most wanted are believed to be still hiding in the area, including al Qaeda commander Abdul Qadoos and Jalauddin Haqqani, the Taliban's former military chief for southern Afghanistan.

Washington has apparently turned down help from local warriors after many al Qaeda fighters were allowed to escape during last year's attack on the Tora Bora cave complex.

Today provincial governors were said to be angered by the US decision "to go it alone".

Comment: Al Qaeda captives