Gary Glitter arrives in UK
Former pop star Gary Glitter arrived at Heathrow Airport this morning finally ending his apparent attempt to avoid returning to Britain.
Convicted paedophile Glitter, 64, was due to be met by police officers after touching down on a Thai Airways flight from Bangkok.
The former 70s glam rock singer had been released from prison in Vietnam on Tuesday where he had been serving a jail term for abusing two young girls.
After reportedly refusing to return to Britain, he was at the centre of an international merry-go-round as country after country refused him leave to enter.
Having failed to gain entry to Thailand on two occasions and Hong Kong once, Glitter, whose real name is Paul Gadd, eventually agreed to fly to London yesterday.
Following his return to British soil, the ageing singer will be served an order which will effectively put him on the sex offenders register for a second time.
He will be required to tell authorities where he plans to live, be monitored by police and the probation service and could also face an order prohibiting him from going near children or using the internet.
His return to the UK brought to an end the bizarre series of shuttle flights between different airports.
The farcical events began on Tuesday when Glitter was released from Thu Duc jail after serving almost three years for abusing two girls aged 10 and 11.
He was ordered out of Vietnam and travelled to Bangkok, where he was expected to board a flight to London Heathrow under the terms of his release.
But on arrival in the Thai capital, Glitter reportedly feigned heart trouble to avoid boarding the UK-bound plane.
He was barred entry to Thailand and warned he would be taken to a detention centre if he continued to refuse to leave the country.
After spending around 20 hours in the transit lounge at Bangkok Airport, Glitter boarded a flight to Hong Kong last night in the hope that he would be accepted there.
But the Chinese authorities barred him entry and he was put back on a Thai Airways flight to Bangkok today.
On his arrival he was again told by Thai authorities that he was not welcome.
With a growing list of countries stating that they would deny him entry, Glitter was left with little choice but to return to the UK.
His fall from grace began when he was convicted of downloading child pornography in the UK in 1999 after a computer repair shop found the images on his laptop and he served two months of a four-month sentence.
He left the country and moved to Spain and Cuba before travelling to south-east Asia, where he escaped detection until he was tracked down by reporters.
He was kicked out of Cambodia after facing allegations of sex crimes and moved to the Vietnamese coastal resort of Vung Tau.
The two girls at first made allegations of rape, which carries a death sentence, but were reportedly paid off with £1,175 (€1,480).
Glitter was arrested trying to leave the country and stood trial, pleading not guilty and claiming he was teaching the girls English. He was convicted and sentenced to three years in March 2006.
