Abu Rideh, you will remember, is the dead Al Qaeda activist who was a terrorist fundraiser and a recruiter of fighters who were sent to Afghanistan.
His supporters in the United Kingdom include a broad range of Islamist campaigning groups. They include the Labour peer, Lord Ahmed.
Here is the report from Helping Households Under Great Stress (HHugs):
In his desperation to find help he visited the Houses of Parliament on Tuesday and sat in the Commons’ public gallery during a debate. The Labour peer Lord Ahmed escorted Mr Abu Rideh during part of his visit.
Lord Ahmed said he offered to see Mr Abu Rideh in his office in the House of Lords after meeting him at Regent’s Park Mosque.
Mr Abu Rideh said: “I don’t want to embarrass Lord Ahmed. but I have no choice. I have to speak to anyone who might be able to help. I just want to help my family. All Tony Blair has to do is let us leave this country for Palestine . Why can’t he do that?”
HHugs is run by Moazzam Begg’s wife.
Moazzam Begg and the late Abu Rideh worked together in Afghanistan to build a girl’s school which, according to the Telegraph, was for the children of Arabic speakers whose fathers were “some of the world’s most wanted men”.
