Gary Glitter finally ended his Far Eastern odyssey yesterday, flying back to Britain and protesting his innocence.

Within hours of his arrival at Heathrow after days of shuttling between Asian countries in the hope of being let in, his lawyers argued at court that he was a victim of a “travesty of justice”.

His solicitor, David Corker, told Uxbridge magistrates that Glitter had gone through an “unfair show trial” in Vietnam for child sex offences and that it had been “a gross breach of human rights standards”. District Judge David Sullivan said that Glitter, real name Paul Francis Gadd, could not challenge his conviction and must register for life as a sex offender.

Outside the court Mr Corker said that Glitter, 64, was in fear of his life from vigilantes. He was also ill, according to Mr Corker, having contracted tuberculosis while in the Vietnamese jail and suffering hearing loss.

When Glitter, wearing a blue baseball cap, glasses, white T-shirt and chequered scarf, arrived on a Thai Airways flight from Bangkok, it brought to an end an unedifying tour of Asian airports. Having been released from Thu Duc jail on Tuesday, after serving most of a three-year sentence for sex crimes involving two girls aged 10 and 11, he was ordered out of the country.

He then travelled to Bangkok and Hong Kong, and on each occasion was refused entry, leaving him little choice but to return to Britain, where in 1999 he was convicted of downloading child pornography and served two months of a four-month sentence.

Frankie Wicks, a passenger on the flight from Bangkok, said that the chaos surrounding the singer had infuriated those on board. He said that they were held on the plane for more than a hour as Glitter cleared immigration. “It was an absolute disgrace,” Mr Wicks, from Bedfordshire, told The Times. “He was in business class and we had to wait until they got him off. Why are they giving so much time to a convicted paedophile?”

He said that when it first became clear that Glitter was on board, a hostile atmosphere developed. “Lots of people were muttering under their breath,” Mr Wicks said.

As Glitter went to ground at Heathrow - and was later whisked away, presumably with the help of the Metropolitan Police, to a safe house – Mr Corker was trying to redeem the singer’s reputation at the nearby magistrates’ court.

The judge issued an order under the Sexual Offences Act 2003, obliging Glitter to tell police where he is living and the address of any place at which he stays for more than seven days. He must also tell them if he intends to go abroad for more than three days.

Mr Corker said that Glitter was “pleased to be back because for the first time he can appear before a court of justice”, adding that the singer was “innocent of the crimes for which he was convicted”.

He said: “Mr Gadd is not a well man. He needs medical attention and is also, unsurprisingly, concerned about his safety. These past few days have enabled the Metropolitan Police and I, on his behalf, to put into place a proper procedure for his protection and his wellbeing.”

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