Christians Under Attack

Ahmed Abu Rideh even sat in the Commons public gallery for a debate.

He was invited to Westminster on Tuesday by Lord Ahmed, who met him at Regent’s Park mosque three weeks ago.

The father of five — suspected of being a money man for terror groups — was given a SECURITY sticker for his Parliamentary visit.

And he boasted yesterday of sitting in the Commons gallery, adding: “It was very interesting.”

Shadow Home Secretary David Davis last night said Abu Rideh had been able to “walk around one of the UK’s biggest terror targets”.

Lord Ahmed confirmed he invited Abu Rideh, 34, to see him — and said he QUIZZED him over the suspected al Qaeda link.

He said: “I gave an appointment to see him this week. He came to see me as a Parliamentarian. It was my duty to hear what he had to say.

“He came through the peers’ entrance. He went through the security check and I met him at security. He did not leave me for one second.

“I did not take him into any public galleryI asked him, ‘Have you ever been linked with al Qaeda?’ and he denied it.”

Lord Ahmed said he escorted Abu Rideh from the building after the interview in his office.

It is not known when the suspect got into the Commons gallery.

Abu Rideh explained the visit by saying: “I was meeting some people to help me with my problem.”

The Palestinian suspect came to Britain in 1995 and was given permission to remain permanently in 1998.

He was detained as a terror suspect in December 2001, accused of fundraising for groups linked to al Qaeda.

David Blunkett directly accused him of the link to Osama bin Laden’s organisation when Home Secretary.

Abu Rideh has admitted to officials in a statement that he “used to travel around Afghanistan, disguised as a beggar, with large sums of money hidden in a plaster cast on his leg”.

Lord Ahmed ... quizzed Abu Rideh

Another document from the Special Immigration Appeals Commission said he admitted fundraising for a school which had “some of the world’s most wanted men” among its parents.

He was first held in London’s Belmarsh jail. But he was then moved to Broadmoor secure hospital in Berkshire after he slashed his arms and wrists.

The SIAC bailed him in 2003 and gave him a Control Order, which places restrictions on his freedom outside.

Abu Rideh returned to his three-bedroom council home in West London — but now wears a tag and must be there from 7pm until dawn.

Lord Ahmed, 48, comes from a working-class background in Rotherham, South Yorks, where he used to run a chip shop.

He entered the House of Lords in 1998, becoming the first Muslim to receive a life peerage.

In November he spoke out against parts of the the Government’s Terrorism Bill, which he said restricted political views.

He has previously called for jailed cleric Abu Hamza to be stripped of his citizenship and deported.

Additional Reporting: ALEX PEAKE