London, Aug 13 (IANS) An top Al Qaeda militant - who had links to the late Osama bin Laden - has been released on bail in Britain after he claimed he has had a "change of heart" about terrorism, a media report said.


The Algerian national - identified only as "U" - was detained in 2001. He had come to Britain from Afghanistan in 1999. He has been behind bars or under house arrest since then, The Sun reported.

"U" has been officially classified as an "active terrorist head of a group of individuals in Britain with an international reach".

His lawyers applied for bail to the Special Immigration Appeals Commission, where the judge said "U" produced a written statement in which he wished to have the chance to show "how I and my world views have changed. I have seen the chaos and suffering caused by war and violence and want to see another way".

Tory MP Douglas Carswell has termed as "insane" the decision to grant bail to "U" while terror expert Neil Doyle called it "worrying".