Freedom's wonderful, says mercenary

The Old Etonian and ex-SAS soldier, who was pardoned earlier this week after being jailed over a bungled coup in Equatorial Guinea, touched down in a private jet at Luton Airport.

Mann, who could now face questioning by British police, said he was looking forward to meeting his son Arthur, who was born after he left the UK.

In his statement, read by spokesman Ian Monk, Mann said: "This is the most wonderful homecoming I could ever have imagined. There hasn't been a moment during the last five and a half years when I have not dreamt of one day being back in Britain with my family.

"I'm especially looking forward to meeting my son Arthur, who was born a few months after I left the country and whom consequently I have never seen.

"I am hugely grateful to President Mbasogo for releasing me. It's the best early Christmas present my family and I could ever have imagined. As I know you will understand I have been away for five and a half tough years, much of it spent in solitary confinement. I now need time to adjust and so I would ask that you respect my privacy and that of my family during this period."

Scotland Yard counter terrorism detectives are preparing to question Mann, who was freed after serving 15 months of a 34-year sentence in the oil-rich West African state.

Serious questions remain over the 2004 plot to topple Equatorial Guinea's government and install opposition leader Severo Moto. The plan collapsed when Mann and a team of up to 70 mercenaries were held on a airport runway in Harare, Zimbabwe, in March 2004.

Mann, 57, claimed during his trial that several other prominent figures helped to organise and finance the plot in London. He told the court Sir Mark Thatcher, son of former prime minister Baroness Thatcher, was "part of the management team". Sir Mark was given a suspended sentence in South Africa in relation to funding the operation and has always denied any knowledge that a coup was being plotted.

A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: "We can confirm we are investigating whether any offences may have been disclosed in this country. We are aware of developments but are not prepared to discuss them further. We are liaising with the Crown Prosecution Service. Inquiries continue. The Counter Terrorism Command are investigating."