MOHAMMAD SIDIQUE KHAN had a trusted job as a primary school teaching assistant working with children from poor and vulnerable families arriving in Britain.

Khan, 30, who ran an Islamic bookshop, was employed as a “learning mentor” in an inner-city district with a high proportion of asylum-seekers, homeless families and battered wives.

His mother-in-law, a highly respected Asian volunteer worker, was invited to Buckingham Palace to be honoured by the Queen for a lifetime of community work, particularly with women.

Khan was one of two learning mentors employed at Hillside Primary School in Beeston, which had such a high turnover that 75 per cent of pupils could change in a year. His task was to liaise with children’s previous schools on their special needs and to assess their learning skills. On their first day at school, children would rely on Khan, who was their official “buddy”. He was given the privileged position of sitting, with the head teacher, through interviews with new families to the area. Many were single mothers, fresh immigrants, refugees or victims of domestic violence.

In 2002 he gave an interview to The Times Educational Supplement about his unusual job, claiming his role helped children to settle. “A lot of them have said this is the best school they have been to,” he said.

He also gave a fascinating hint of his own smouldering political anger and dissent. As a Beeston resident, he expressed his discontent with the community’s squalor, saying he believed it would be many years before regeneration cash would transform the area.

Khan moved to a council house in Lees Holm, Thornhill, Dewsbury, six months ago and became a liaison officer in another local school. His wife, Hasini Patel, is said to have held anti-Taleban, pro-women views at odds with her husband’s version of Islam. She also worked in education as a “neighbourhood enrichment officer”. They had a baby daughter in May last year. But the pressure on their marriage was too strong and the couple were said to have separated.

They previously lived in Dewsbury, in a bungalow with his mother-in-law, Farida Patel, and members of the extended family. That home was raided by 50 police officers on Tuesday morning. As a dinner lady and sports superviser, Mrs Patel became well known and popular in Dewsbury before her retirement. She also worked as a bi-lingual teacher.

The Patels were known opponents of Muslim extremism and supporters of women’s rights. They have been devastated to learn of Khan’s role.

Khan, born in Leeds, has never been seen in the local Daulim Mosque in Dewsbury and his fanatical religious views have come as a surprise in the locality.

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