Hijacker is employed at BA office

The plane with 168 people on board was forced to land in Stansted

An Afghani who hijacked an aeroplane to escape the Taleban and was then granted asylum in the UK has been working in a British Airways office near Heathrow.

Nazamuddin Mohammidy, 34, of Hounslow, west London, works for a cleaning firm, which confirmed it employed him.

He was one of nine men who hijacked Ariana Boeing 727 in 2000 and forced it to land at Stansted Airport in Essex, resulting in a four-day stand-off.

BA said he did not work at the airport and did not have airside access.

Mr Mohammidy's job was discovered when he was stopped by police at Heathrow Terminal 5 for allegedly breaching the conditions of his bail.

He was accused of assault and criminal damage in December and is due to appear at Ealing Magistrates' Court on Monday.

Hijack convictions quashed

A BA spokesman said: "We have been helping the police with their inquiries into a man who is employed by our cleaning contractors.

"He does not work at the airport and does not hold an airside pass. He works at one of our properties about a mile away."

Mr Mohammidy and eight others hijacked the Afghan plane with 165 people on board, which was on an internal flight, saying they were escaping from the Taleban regime.

They forced the plane to fly to Stansted which led to a four day stand-off and eventually asylum applications by the 78 people on board, including the hijackers.

The men were jailed in 2001 for the hijacking but appeal judges quashed their convictions in May 2003 stating a mistake in directing the jury.

The men were also granted asylum in the UK until it was safe to return to Afghanistan.