Egyptian chemist had no role in London attacks"

The British government is convinced that that there is no link between the Egyptian biochemist being questioned in Cairo and the London bombings, a top Egyptian security official said on Tuesday.

The official, quoted in the state-owned newspaper al-Ahram, also said that British authorities were satisfied with a probe by Egyptian investigators.
Magdy al-Nashar, a 33-year-old biochemist who lives in the UK, returned to Egypt four days before the 7 July bombings that killed at least 56 people, and was arrested last week in Cairo.

British police have not officially named al-Nashar as a suspect in their investigation.

"There is complete security cooperation with the British side, which is convinced from the questioning carried out by Egypt, that al-Nashar had no role in these explosions," al-Ahram quoted the security source as saying.

"Al-Nashar will not be released at present," the source said. "He has a warrant against him, which is the legal procedure. His release will come when the investigation is over,"

"It was important to clear him publicly. If accusations or evidence existed against him, Egypt would have the laws to try him," he added.

Nashar, who gained a PhD in chemistry at Leeds University, told Egyptian authorities that he returned to Egypt for a six-week holiday and had planned to go back to the UK.

Egyptian Interior Minister said on Saturday that reports linking al-Nashar to the al-Qaeda network were "groundless" and based on a hasty conclusion.

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