Gary Glitter awaits travel ban ruling

Paedophile Gary Glitter will learn today whether he can leave Britain for a short holiday.

The former 1970s glam rock star, real name Paul Gadd, wants permission to travel to the south of France.

But Metropolitan Police child protection detectives applied for a six-month foreign travel order after he notified them of his plans.

District Judge Timothy Workman will rule whether Gadd, 65, can travel in a hearing at City of Westminster Magistrates' Court later today.

Police told the judge during an earlier hearing that Gadd was "unable to help himself", it was reported today.

They said he could be a danger to children if allowed to travel and may attempt to cross the border into Spain.

Gadd was deported from Vietnam last year after serving nearly three years in prison for molesting two young girls aged 10 and 11.

He also served two months in jail in 1999 for possessing child pornography.

Registered sex offenders are required by law to notify police of any plans to travel abroad.

Police can apply for a foreign travel order if they believe an individual continues to pose a danger to children.

Anyone who breaches such a ban commits a criminal offence and could be punished with a jail term of up to five years.

A foreign travel order was imposed on Gadd last September stopping him from going to France and Spain. The order expired in March.

A court spokeswoman said the hearing will take place at 2pm. The Metropolitan Police declined to comment.