If the Brits were smart, he wouldn't survive. -Bruce
Bakri to have heart op on NHS By Brendan Carlin, Duncan Gardham and John Steele (Filed: 11/08/2005) Daily Telegraph The Government was under intense pressure last night to carry out <http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/07/27/nblairs27.x ml> Tony Blair's threats to expel extremist Muslim clerics after news that one of them was expected to return for a heart operation on the health service. Omar Bakri Mohammed, who is in Lebanon, is due to have treatment at St Thomas's Hospital, just across the Thames from the Palace of Westminster. Omar Bakri Omar Bakri Mohammed: angioplasty procedure Bakri, who has said he would never warn police if he learned of an impending suicide bomber attack by fellow Muslims, is in theory free to return to his family in London as he was granted indefinite leave to stay in the 1980s. Bakri <http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/08/09/nbakri09.xm l> left Britain for the first time in 20 years at the weekend after gaining a Lebanese passport, apparently without the knowledge of the Home Office, to fly to Beirut where his mother lives. He receives £331.28 a month in incapacity benefit and £183.30 a month in disability living allowance because of a leg injury he suffered in his teens. Both payments will continue for at least six months while he is abroad, as long as he plans to return, as will the housing benefit on his home in Edmonton, north London, and his council tax benefit. His wife, who remains in Britain with their seven children, can also continue to claim a benefits package thought to be worth at least £1,300 a month. Bakri drives a Toyota people carrier worth £30,000, paid for under a scheme called Motability. The preacher is expected to return for an angioplasty procedure. That involves inserting and inflating a balloon in the coronary artery to improve blood flow. He has been receiving treatment at North Middlesex Hospital, near his home, as well as at St Thomas's. One of his supporters told The Daily Telegraph yesterday: "He has a heart condition and was scheduled for treatment but I don't know when or if he is planning to return for it." Bakri, who comes from a wealthy, orthodox Muslim family from Syria, ran a computer business when he arrived in Britain but it collapsed. As a teenager, he lived in Beirut. He then studied Sharia law at Damascus University before moving to Saudi Arabia. He was deported and claimed asylum in Britain. Despite Mr Blair's assurance last Friday that Britain would no longer be a haven for Muslim extremists, John Prescott, the Deputy Prime Minister, said this week that Bakri had committed no offence and was therefore free to "come in and out". But Home Office officials are known to be exploring every legal avenue to find a way to prevent his setting foot in the country again. The revelation that Bakri might return for NHS treatment will intensify the pressure for action to be taken, possibly after the present two-week consultation period on beefing up deportation rules. Michael Howard, the Conservative leader and a former home secretary, challenged Labour to explain why existing powers could not be invoked against Bakri and said that Mr Prescott was talking "absolute nonsense". He said that foreign nationals whose presence was not conducive to the public good could be expelled and that Bakri should be excluded "without delay". Speaking before the revelation about the cleric's planned heart operation, he said: "If there is a reason why the Government feels the Home Secretary cannot use these powers, we should be told what it is." There was fresh confusion over the suggestion that centuries-old treason laws could be used against extremist clerics. Ken Macdonald, QC, the Director of Public Prosecutions, said the subject had never been discussed between his staff and Scotland Yard. But last week the Attorney-General's Office said that treason was one option. One positive development in Mr Blair's anti-terrorist drive was confirmation that the Government had signed an agreement with Jordan, giving assurances that anyone deported there would not be tortured or subjected to unacceptable treatment. The move could bring the removal of Abu Qatada, a Jordanian citizen who has been called "Osama bin Laden's ambassador in Europe", although the agreement could be challenged in the courts. The Home Office refused to comment on that or on Bakri's case. It also refused to comment on a meeting that Hazel Blears, the Home Office minister, held with faith group leaders and Muslim MPs. Lord Falconer, the Lord Chancellor, has also refused to comment on Bakri's situation, saying he did not want to influence any future legal action against any individual. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> <font face=arial size=-1><a href="http://us.ard.yahoo.com/SIG=12hhkikt3/M=362329.6886306.7839369.3040540/D=groups/S=1705323667:TM/Y=YAHOO/EXP=1123732508/A=2894321/R=0/SIG=11dvsfulr/*http://youthnoise.com/page.php?page_id=1992 ">Fair play? Video games influencing politics. Click and talk back!</a>.</font> --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [EMAIL PROTECTED] -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: [email protected] Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. 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