Magag 'not a direct threat to the public' - May

A terror suspect who absconded in December is not considered to represent a direct threat to the public, the home secretary has said.

Ibrahim Magag, of Somali origin, disappeared from Camden, north London on Boxing Day. Police were alerted after he failed to attend his designated overnight residence address that night.

Mr Magag was previously subject to a control order but they were replaced by TPim control measures last January. The Home Office said his disappearance had nothing to do with the switch.

Answering an urgent question on the issue on 8 January 2013, Theresa May said Mr Magag's TPim was to prevent "fundraising and overseas travel", and that his disappearance was not believed to be linked to "current terrorism planning" in the UK.

But shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper questioned the effectiveness of TPims, suggesting he could not have absconded so easily under the former control order regime which gave authorities the power to force suspects to relocate away from their homes and close associates.

"She must not ignore the evidence on relocations now. She must put the national interest ahead of her political interest and stop ducking the issue. Isn't it time she took responsibility and sorted out this mess?" she asked.

But Liberal Democrat Julian Huppert criticised the previous Labour government's "Stalinist authoritarian approach" which "exiled people indefinitely without trial".

Mrs May said she was "disappointed" by Ms Cooper's response, reminding her that there were "seven absconds" under the existing control order regime, six of whom she said were never apprehended.

She said the police were doing "everything in their power" to apprehend Mr Magag, devoting significant resources to the search.