OMAR BAKRI MOHAMMED is the only one of London’s triumvirate of extremist Islamist clerics not currently in prison.

He rose to prominence in the 1980s and 1990s when the capital sheltered so many radicals that it was nicknamed Londonistan. Mr Bakri Mohammad, 46, vied for attention with the Jordanian Abu Qatada and the Egyptian-born Abu Hamza al-Masri. Abu Qatada, 44, seen by the Spanish authorities as al-Qaeda’s “spiritual ambassador in Europe”, is being held without trial as a foreign terror suspect in Belmarsh jail, southeast London.

Abu Hamza, 47, is on remand in the same prison awaiting trial on charges including soliciting to murder. The US has requested his extradition.

Mr Bakri Mohammed has been investigated by police over his allegedly inflammatory language, but no charges have been pressed. In 2003 he was linked with two Britons who carried out a suicide bomb attack in Tel Aviv. Again no prosecution was brought.

Sheikh Omar bin Bakri bin Mohammed was born into a wealthy family in Aleppo, Syria. He attended Islamic boarding schools and became engrossed in study of the Koran. He considers himself an eminent scholar. He joined movements including the Muslim Students and the Muslim Brotherhood, forerunner of today’s Islamist movement.

In 1986, after living in Syria and Lebanon, he was expelled from Saudi Arabia as an extremist and arrived in Britain. He soon became immersed in extreme religious politics, setting up a branch of Hizb ul-Tahrir (Party of Liberation).

The movement recruited from mosques and campuses but Mr Bakri Mohammed split from it in 1996 and created al-Muhajiroun (The Eyes and Ears of the Muslims). Inflammatory stunts — ranging from vocal anti-Semitism to threatening the life of John Major — guaranteed headlines.

After the September 11 attacks. al-Muhajiroun praised the “Magnificent 19” hijackers. With media attention came increasing police interest.

In October, Mr Bakri Mohammed announced that he was disbanding al-Muhajiroun in the interests of unity in the Muslim world. It appears that, with his fellow radicals facing arrest, he was stepping out of the limelight while continuing to propagate a hardline message. He has also established himself as British head of the Ahl ul-Sunnah wal Jammah movement (known as the Saviour Sect) which controls a few small mosques across Britain.

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