Clarke loses bid to return terror suspect to jail

The Home Secretary Charles Clarke today lost his legal bid to send an international terror suspect currently on house arrest back to prison.

It was claimed that bail conditions were breached when two men spent 20 minutes with the 35-year-old Algerian, thought to have links with al Qaida, in an unauthorised visit at his home on November 12, 2004.

But Mr Justice Collins, sitting at the Special Immigration Appeals Commission, ruled that the Secretary of State had not proved "to the necessary standard" that there had been a breach.

The detainee, identified only as G, is the only man held under the Government's controversial anti-terrorist powers to be kept under house arrest instead of prison.

Mr Justice Collins said: "We are not satisfied to the necessary standard that the Secretary of State has proved a breach and in the circumstances we will take no action towards the revocation of bail."

G who had been detained without trial since December 2001 was released from Belmarsh top security prison in south London under strict bail conditions in April after suffering a mental breakdown.