The terrorist who became a London traffic warden

Mustapha Boutarfa, 32, was arrested by Scotland Yard's anti-terrorist squad in 1996 and extradited from Britain to France two years later.

He stood trial for his auxiliary role in the 1995 attack on the St Michel station by a notorious Islamic militant group and was given a two-year prison sentence.

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But after his release, Boutarfa, who held dual French and Algerian nationality, managed to get back into the UK with his wife and children - and also secured the job as a parking attendant in Richmond-upon-Thames, Surrey.

"We often see him in his grey uniform prowling the streets and handing out tickets,' said one resident. "I had no idea about his past. It beggars belief."

When his employer, NCP Services, learned of his background - three years after he first started work - it suspended him, saying it could "understand public concern about this matter". Boutarfa is now being investigated by police.

The apparent ease with which he returned to Britain and gained employment as a law enforcer caused fury.

Shadow Home Secretary David Davis described the system that allowed Boutarfa to return as a "disgrace" and blamed "our porous borders". He said: "And what better grounds for national security do you need than someone convicted of terror offences?"

"This situation needs to be solved by proper secure borders."

It follows last week's revelations that the terror suspects accused of the car bomb attacks at Glasgow Airport had been working as NHS doctors, and concern about police officers and civilian staff with suspected links to Al Qaeda.

Boutarfa's secret would prob-ably never have come to light had he not accused a van driver of assaulting him in a row over a parking ticket last October. It led to the sensational disclosure about his past in open court.

His 21-year-old alleged attacker was arrested by four police officers at his home a month after the row. He vehemently denied assault - insisting that Boutarfa behaved threateningly towards him, "waving his hand-held computer at me menacingly" - but the case went to magistrates and finally before a judge at Kingston Crown Court on June 26.

But before proceedings started the prosecution revealed Bou-tarfa's terror conviction and the judge immediately dismissed the case. A CPS spokesman said: "He [Boutarfa] had not disclosed this information to the court and the judge decided this undermined his evidence."

Boutarfa was detained in London in 1996 under an international arrest warrant and held at Belmarsh high-security prison before being extradited.

He was accused of providing logistical support in a series of outrages. He rented an apartment in Paris which was used by Algeria's Armed Islamic Group (GIA) for a series of bomb attacks across France. Worst of all was the attack on the St Michel station when a gas bottle was thrown on to a platform on July 25, 1995, causing carnage.

Boutarfa was linked to the attacks after police claimed known terrorists had visited his Paris flat.

It was unclear why Boutarfa was allowed back into Britain. It is understood he lied about his criminal conviction when he applied for his job as a traffic warden.

He was arrested on June 6 on suspicion of making a false declaration and has been bailed pending further investigation.

Tim Cowen of NCP Services said: "NCP Services suspended Mr Boutarfa as soon as we discovered that he had a conviction for terrorism-related offences in France. There is no way for UK employers to check offences committed in Europe, yet EU citizens such as Mr Boutarfa have the right to work in the UK.

"He was not initially employed by NCP Services but by the previous contractors. When we took over the contract he was transferred to us, as is his legal right.

"We have started discussions with the French Embassy policing unit to establish whether they can help us do checks for offences committed in France."

A Home Office spokesman said: "The Government is committed to improving the recording and sharing of criminality data with our European partners which is why the previous Home Secretary commissioned a review of criminality data systems."

The Home Office added it can "refuse leave to enter the UK on the grounds of national security".