Omar Bakri Mohammed, one of the Islamic extremists who faced possible treason charges over support for the London bombers, has fled to Beirut.
The spiritual leader of the al-Muhajiroun group sparked outrage last week when he said he would not inform police if he knew Muslims were planning a bomb attack on a train in the UK and supported Muslims who attacked British troops in Afghanistan and Iraq.
A former UK head of the group – which is to be banned under anti-terror laws unveiled by Prime Minister Tony Blair last week – has confirmed that the radical cleric had left the country. Anjem Choudary told Channel 4 News: “He left on Saturday and I received confirmation of that on Sunday.