FOR months Britain’s most wanted man was able to live openly in a modern London flat, allegedly drawing benefit payments and entertaining a procession of Islamic militants while the security services were hunting him.

Abu Qatada, who is accused by police in Europe of being a pivotal figure in al-Qaeda, had regular visits from his wife and five children, who often stayed for several days at a time. They were with him only hours before detectives and MI5 agents smashed down the door of his hideout in a block of flats on Wednesday night — only a mile from Scotland Yard’s headquarters.

European police chiefs were queuing up yesterday with requests to interview the 42-year-old cleric, but the Home Office would not say whether the ten-month hunt for Britain’s most wanted terrorist suspect was over. Abu Qatada was being questioned yesterday at Belmarsh top security prison. It was unclear if investigators from abroad, including America, would be allowed to speak to him.

Police will not say if any others of his entourage have been taken into custody.

The militant cleric has been the subject of speculation and conspiracy theories since he slipped away from his West London home with his family last December, just before new terror laws were introduced.

A French security official has alleged that the cleric, whose real name is Sheikh Omar Mahmood Abu Omar, was a spy for British Intelligence, who were protecting him at a safe house. That allegation was strongly denied.

The authorities were, however, embarrassed by questions from police in Italy, Spain and Germany as to why such a figure could not be found. They say he is closely linked to terror cells plotting bomb attacks in Europe and recruiting terrorists for al-Qaeda.

During his time on the run, the cleric, who is 6ft 3in and weighs more than 20st, is believed to have communicated with aides using pre-paid mobile telephones, which are nearly impossible to trace. He is believed to have stayed at a number of residences in England provided by supporters.

Militant Islamic groups knew of his arrest on Wednesday long before the Home Secretary, David Blunkett, told MPs in a written parliamentary answer that an unnamed man had been detained under new anti-terrorism laws.

Some of his supporters were threatening reprisals after a detailed e-mail was circulating among leading Islamic radicals on Wednesday describing his capture.

The flat where he was found, which belongs to a Housing Association in Southwark, is only a short walk from Parliament, the Home Office and MI6’s headquarters. Abu Qatada is thought to have spent several months in this housing estate, which is close to London’s South Bank University. One of the men he allegedly recruited to al-Qaeda, Zacharias Moussaoui, the “20th hijacker”, was a student at this university. One woman, who asked not to be named, said: “There were lots of people coming in and out of the place, particularly at night.”

Mr Qatada is funded by wealthy benefactors in the Muslim community, who regard him as one of the most distinguished Koranic scholars.

Southwark council said it was paying benefits to the occupant of the flat and that it was investigating the incident.

Among the numerous terrorist suspects who attended his hardline lectures at a community centre near Baker Street was Djamel Beghal, a French-Algerian accused of masterminding a plot to blow up the US Embassy in Paris. Mr Beghal, who lived in Britain for more than two years, has told French police that Mr Qatada acted like a magnet for fundamentalists, some of whom later trained in Afghanistan and were set terrorist missions against Western targets.

He also has claimed that others close to Mr Qatada in London were involved in logistical operations such as fundraising or forging documents, or were given responsibility for liaising with extremists in other European cities. His arrest was welcomed as “extremely good news” by the Labour MP for Hendon, Andrew Dismore, who was instrumental in having him investigated.

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