Daily Mail:
Last updated at 10:19 PM on 21st January 2012
Restrictions: The Mail on Sunday is challenging the decision made by the courts that the pilot with terror links cannot be identified
A British airline pilot arrested over an alleged terrorist plot is claiming racial and religious discrimination after losing his job.
The pilot, a Muslim, was judged a security risk because of his close links to two alleged extremists suspected of ‘planning to use an aircraft as part of a hostile or terrorist act’.
Because of draconian reporting restrictions imposed last week by an employment tribunal, the man cannot be identified and neither can his employer.
Despite this, a well-known British carrier said in a letter that the pilot was ‘in a position to cause considerable harm’ and added that it was in the ‘national interest’ to ensure he never flew commercial aircraft again.
Concerns about the two suspected extremists – one is a business partner of the pilot’s brother – were first raised when they paid for flying lessons and a light aircraft in cash.
During a raid on the London home of one of the pair, detectives found documents relating to the operation of aircraft, a flight map of the UK and literature from an Islamic extremist group banned in many countries.
The pilot, who lives in South-East England and was based at Heathrow, has known the men for ten years and rented a flat from one of them.
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