Scotland Yard has played down reports that a British al-Qaida suspect wanted in connection with the London bombings had been captured in Zambia.
Haroon Rashid Aswat, who grew up in West Yorkshire, was arrested last week and is being held for his alleged role in setting up a terror camp in Oregon, according to the Los Angeles Times.
A police spokeswoman refused to shed any light on claims he was the possible mastermind of the July 7 attacks.
A spokeswoman said: "It's all speculation and not something that we will discuss at the moment."
The Foreign Office confirmed it was seeking consular access to a British national reported to be in custody in Zambia.
Aswat, 30, had reportedly been under US surveillance in South Africa weeks before the July 7 bombings which killed 52 people, as well as the four suicide perpetrators.
Sources told CNN that British authorities had denied a US request to capture him just weeks before the deadly blasts because he was a British citizen. The Foreign Office said it was not aware of any such request.
Aswat had reportedly been in London for two weeks before the attack and had apparently fled just hours before the explosions. He is reportedly wanted by police in Britain after making some 20 calls from his mobile phone to two of the four suicide bombers.
US authorities want to question him about a 1999 plot to set up an al Qaeda terror camp in Oregon.
James Ujaama, from Seattle, pleaded guilty to involvement in the plot in April 2003 and struck a plea deal last year. He had faced up to 25 years in prison but received a two-year sentence for agreeing to co-operate in terrorism probes.
back to mastermind section | back to 77 index