Fake Sheikh strikes again, but 'terrorism' case is thrown out

LONDON - His tabloid investigations have led to more than 200 convictions and caused acute embarrassment to members of the royal family, football managers and assorted celebrities.

But yesterday, the undercover reporting methods of the infamous "fake Sheikh", Mazher Mahmood, were thrown into question, not for the first time, when three men caught in one of his stings were cleared of any wrongdoing at the Old Bailey.

The trio from northwest London, Roque Fernandes, 44, Dominic Martins, 45 and Abdurahman Kanyare, 53, denied plotting to supply terrorists with radioactive "Red Mercury", which could be used to make a bomb.

A jury returned verdicts of not guilty after two weeks of deliberations, sparked by Mahmood's investigation for the News of the World.

Tipped off by an anonymous source, known as Mr B, the newspaper's star reporter posed as a potential seller of the deadly chemical and met the three men, accompanied by undercover police officers.

The resulting story was splashed on the front of the News of the World in September 2004.

But before the start of the three-month trial, estimated to have cost more than £1 million ($3 million), the defence team urged the judge to throw out the case, arguing it would be an abuse to let it go ahead.

Mahmood, whose controversial newspaper investigations have prompted indiscretions from former England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson and the Countess of Wessex among others, was accused of being an agent provocateur in the sting.

Stephen Solley, representing Martins, said there was a "huge danger of accepting Mr Mahmood's word in respect of any matter".

He added that the deal was motivated by, "money on the one hand and selling newspapers on the other".

"We submit that justice went out of the window," Mr Solley said.

The News of the World said it was "disappointed" by the outcome of the trial and defended its journalist and his story, insisting it would continue to pursue any investigation with a "clear public interest".

"Our story resulted from a thorough and legitimate investigation by Mazher Mahmood, one of the paper's most senior and experienced reporters whose exposes have led to over 200 convictions.

"The News of the World involvement in this investigation and trial was conducted under the direction of senior anti-terrorist police officers.

Roy Greenslade, professor of journalism at City University, London, and a former editor of the Daily Mirror, said: "I don't know if it will stop him in his tracks. It should give the News of the World's editor and senior executives pause for thought about the use of subterfuge.

"It crosses a line between reactive journalism and proactive journalism. Either by charm or circumstance, people are lured into doing things they should never think of."

Mahmood recently clashed with the Respect MP George Galloway, who claimed the reporter attempted to trap him by posing as an Islamic businessman. When Galloway responded by circulating a photograph of Mahmood and publishing it on the internet, the News of the World applied for a temporary injunction on the grounds his life was threatened, which was later lifted.

In another infamous sting in 2002, Mahmood exposed an alleged plot to kidnap Victoria Beckham and her young sons. Five men were arrested, but the case against them collapsed.

In his book My Trade, Andrew Marr, one of the few people ever to interview Mahmood, says: "To many he is the epitome of what real investigative journalism is all about. To others, he is an intrusive blot on the trade."

- INDEPENDENT