London - A political row broke out in London Wednesday after 11 Pakistani students and one Briton, seized two weeks ago in a high profile police terrorism swoop, were released without charge.
The massive police operation had succeeded in foiling a 'very big attack' according to Prime Minister Gordon Brown at the time, with police saying they had foild a major attack on 'soft targets.'
Instead, one was freed last week, and the othere 11 released without charge on Tuesday and Wednesday, prompting accusations of a 'serious breach of human rights.'
The independent reviewer of terrorism laws, high-profile lawyer and Liberal Party politician Alex Carlile, will investigate the circumstances surrounding the arrests and subsequent detention.
Police Wednesday released the remaining two of the men arrested in high-profile anti-terrorism raids in Manchester, Liverpool, and the northern county of Lancashire, on April 8. One of the suspects was released last week, and nine were set free late Tuesday.
Eleven of the men, arrested in broad daylight on campuses in Liverpool and at shops, homes and internet cafes in Manchester, were Pakistani nationals in Britain on student visas, police said.
At the time, police said the men were suspected of having plotted a major terrorist attack on 'soft targets' in Manchester, while Prime Minister Gordon Brown underlined that the arrests were linked to a 'very big attack.'
Brown, reiterating government plans to deport the men to Pakistan, said Wednesday: 'The government's highest priority is to protect public safety. Where a foreign national poses a threat to the country, we will seek to exclude or deport them where appropriate.'
However, Pakistan's High Commissioner to Britain, Wajid Shamsul Hasan, said he would provide legal assistance to the released students who should be allowed to complete their studies as no charges were brought.
'They are youngsters from very poor families...they have spent all their savings and came here with passports and visas to pursue their education and they should be allowed...to pursue their education,' he told the BBC.
The arrests had led to tension with Pakistan as Brown urged the authorities in Islamabad to 'do more' to combat terrorism, while Pakistani officials insisted the arrests in Britain had nothing to do with them and were a matter for the British police.
Lawyers acting for the men freed late Tuesday and Wednesday described their arrests and detention as a 'very serious breach of their human rights.'
But police in Manchester defended the operation, saying that it was 'wholly justified' in the interest of national security.
The Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police, Peter Fahy, said: 'When it comes to the safety of the public we can't take any chances - we must act on information we receive. We don't take these decisions lightly and only carry out this kind of action if it was wholly justified.'
But Mohammed Ayub of Chambers Solicitors in Bradford, representing the men, said: 'Our clients have no criminal history, they were here lawfully on student visas and all were pursuing their studies and working part-time. Our clients are neither extremists nor terrorists.'
'Their arrest and detention has been a very serious breach of their human rights.'
The men would fight their deportation as this would only 'add insult to injury,' said Ayub.
The Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) accused the government of 'dishonourable' behaviour.
'When these arrests took place, in very dramatic circumstances with students being pulled from universities and thrown to the floor, we were told by the Prime Minister no less that this was part of a very big terrorist plot,' said MCB spokesman Inayat Bunglawala.
'Clearly there just has not been the evidence produced to substantiate such a plot,' he said.
'And now ... instead of releasing them with good grace and making clear a mistake has been made, the government is seeking to deport them citing a very vague national security threat. That is a very dishonourable way of proceeding,' said Bunglawala.
The massive police operation was brought forward following an embarrassing security breach by Scotland Yard's anti-terrorism chief, Bob Quick, who resigned after being photographed carrying documents clearly marked 'secret' with details of the police investigation to a government briefing.
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