British Isis bomber 'was ex-Guantanamo detainee awarded £1m compensation'

A former British Guantanamo Bay detainee, who was awarded £1 million in compensation, is believed to have carried out a suicide bombing for the Islamic State in Iraq.

Jamal Udeen al-Harith, from Manchester, detonated an explosives-filled vehicle in a village to the south of Mosul, Iraq, it has been reported.

Isis released an image and video of a grinning al-Harith in a truck packed with explosives.

Tony Blair’s Labour government lobbied the US to free the “innocent” British detainee, leading to his eventual release in 2004.

Mr al-Harith, who changed his name from Ronald Fiddler in 1994, reportedly converted to Islam in the 1990s and travelled to the Pakistani city of Quetta in 2001 for what he claimed was a religious holiday.

He has insisted he tried to enter Iran when the US invaded neighbouring Afghanistan, but was captured and imprisoned by the Taliban on suspicion of being a UK spy.

In 2002 he was arrested by US forces and taken to Guantanamo Bay where he stayed until the British government secured his release two years later.

On leaving the detention centre Mr al-Harith said he had been tortured by US officials and argued British agents had been complicit. He was awarded £1 million in compensation from the British government.

The 50-year-old then used his compensation money to buy a house in Manchester and got a job working as a web designer, according to the Daily Mail.

But in 2014 he is believed to have fled to Syria, where he joined Isis and was renamed a third time as Abu Zakariya al-Britani.

He is believed to have fought for Islamic State militants in the region until his apparent death earlier this week.

The reports have prompted MPs to criticise Mr Blair’s “flawed judgement” to believe Mr al-Harith was “innocent”.

Tory MP Tim Loughton told the Daily Mail: “So much for Tony Blair’s assurances that this extremist did not pose a security threat.

“He clearly was a risk to Britain and our security all along. It adds insult to injury that he was given £1million in compensation because of Blair’s flawed judgement that he was an innocent.”

Liberal Democrat MP John Pugh added: “‘This raises serious questions about the reassurances Labour gave us that this man posed no danger.”

Around 850 individuals of national security concern have travelled to join the conflict, according to figures published by the Government last year.

Of those, just under half have returned to the UK and approximately 15% are dead.

A Foreign Office spokesman said: "The UK has advised for some time against all travel to Syria, and against all travel to large parts of Iraq.

"As all UK consular services are suspended in Syria and greatly limited in Iraq, it is extremely difficult to confirm the whereabouts and status of British nationals in these areas."