Mail Online
Tuesday, January 08, 2013
Al Qaeda-linked terror suspect Ibrahim Magag went on the run by calling for a black cab, it was claimed today.
The Somali-born 28-year-old was being held under security measures because of the threat he poses to the public but disappeared on Boxing Day.
Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper claimed in the Commons he had evaded detection by calling a taxi and demanded to know why he had been allowed to return to London.
Counter-terrorism detectives made the unusual decision to appeal for help over the Christmas holidays to trace the extremist after he went missing.
Magag, who is understood to have attended terrorist training camps in Somalia, absconded from a Terrorism Prevention and Investigation Measure (Tpim) notice after ripping off his electronic tag.
Mrs May insisted the police and security services did not believe Magag was involved in current terrorist planning and that great efforts were being made to find him.
But Ms Cooper told MPs that a tweet from London taxi news service Cabwise suggested Somali-born Magag had evaded detection by picking up a ride less than half-a-mile from Euston station on Boxing Day.
In a fierce exchange with Home Secretary Theresa May, Ms Cooper said: ‘Are you worried that surveillance can be shaken off simply by jumping into a black cab?
Magag, who is thought to have raised funds for al Qaida, was originally handed a control order and forced to live in the West Country away from his network of friends.