Britain denied foiled plane bomb suspect visa over security concerns

Dec 27, 2009, 11:40 GMT

London/Berlin - Britain had denied because of security concerns a visa to the Nigerian man charged in the US with attempting to destroy a passenger plane carrying 278 passengers on Christmas Day, according to a report Sunday.

The British Broadcasting Corporation, quoting government sources, said Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, 23, was denied a new visa in the summer after he tried to apply for a course at a bogus college.

He had lived in Britain between 2005 and 2008 while studying engineering at University College London. Police conducted a search of the apartment in the city's diplomatic quarter near Oxford Circus Saturday where he resided.

Investigators on Sunday continued their search of three more properties belonging to prominent Nigerians as part of the investigation.

Abdulmutallab was earlier Saturday charged in the US with trying to blow up the Northwest Airlines passenger plane as it approached the Detroit, Michigan, airport on Friday.

He was being treated at the University of Michigan Medical Centre in nearby Ann Arbor for burns he received when he tried to set off the volatile pentaerythritol (PETN) explosives.

He was overpowered by passengers and crew on board the plane.

Abdulmutallab was dressed in a hospital gown and handcuffed to a wheelchair when the charges were read.

It was not clear if Abdulmutallab had connections to the al-Qaeda terrorist network. Officials told The New York Times that the suspect had insisted he obtained PETN and a syringe that were sewn into his underwear from a bomb expert in Yemen associated with al-Qaeda.

Abdulmutallab is believed to have smuggled the material on board sometime on the way from Lagos, Nigeria to Detroit via Schiphol airport in Amsterdam. He claimed he had connections to the terrorist network al-Qaeda and terrorist groups in Yemen, The New York Times reported.

Abdulmutallab's father in Nigeria, Alhaji Umaru Mutallab, a former government minister and bank official, said he had tipped the US embassy six months ago about suspicions he had about his son, Nigerian newspaper ThisDay reported.

Security at airports in the US and Europe has been stepped up in the wake of the incident. On Sunday, police in Germany said passengers at the country's airports should expect delays and allow extra time due to heightened security checks.

Airport security staff were searching passengers using manual sensors, in addition to the usual checks which, police said, already met high security standards. In addition, authorities said they were in close contacts with their counterparts in the US.

Passengers arriving on flights to London, including those operated by British Airways and Air Canada, reported being asked to remain seated in the hour before landing. The passengers were also not allowed to access their hand luggage during this period.

Britain's Transport Minister Andrew Adonis said the heightened security had resulted in delays of flights in the US. The extended security checks on passengers would for the moment only affect those travelling in the US or from there, he said.

US justice officials, who interviewed passengers and crew of Flight 253, said Abdulmutallab had gone to the bathroom for about 20 minutes. When he returned to his seat, he complained of stomach ache and pulled a blanket over his lap.

Passengers then reportedly heard 'popping noises' and some observed Abdulmutallab's pants leg and the wall of the airplane on fire, according to the officials.