Liverpool bomber got thousands of pounds from taxpayers to fight deportation
THE Liverpool taxi bomber got thousands of pounds in legal aid in his battle to stay in the UK, figures have revealed.
Emad al-Swealmeen blew himself up in a cab outside a maternity hospital.
The Iraqi-born terrorist had arrived in the UK in 2014 using a Jordanian passport but his asylum case was dismissed and the next year he lost an appeal.
Figures from the Legal Aid Agency show he was given almost £3,000 to fight deportation.
It came after he got more than £1,000 for a defence against criminal charges after he was caught brandishing a blade in the city seven years ago.
Critics have again slammed a process that allowed him to “play the system” while plotting to murder Brits.
After his attempted atrocity last November, an inquest heard he had bought 2,000 ball bearings and rented a “bomb-making factory” to make a device with “murderous intent”.
Most read in The Sun
David Spence, of the Centre for Crime Prevention, said: “This man should never have been in the country to detonate his bomb and changes are clearly needed to ensure others like him aren’t able to cause even more carnage.”
Al-Swealmeen made a third failed asylum bid, not included in the figures we obtained — taking his legal aid bill even higher.
The Home Secretary has blasted the “merry-go-round” asylum process the terrorist exploited.