January 29, 2011 -- The arrest and detention of a west-London-based man wrongly accused of training the September 11 attackers was "reasonable", an independent investigation has concluded. The Metropolitan Police's arrest of Lotfi Raissi took place within context of the 2001 terrorism atrocity which had happened just 10 days previously, the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) said. The case against Mr Rassi, an Algerian pilot living in west London who was later awarded compensation, could have been completed sooner however, it was found. Mr Raissi was arrested in the early hours of September 21 2001, by members of Scotland Yard's anti-terrorism branch following an extradition request from the FBI. They claimed he had attended flight training with one of the plane hijackers and Mr Raissi spent five months in high-security Belmarsh Prison before being granted bail the following February. The extradition request was dismissed in April 2002. In April last year the Ministry of Justice agreed to pay Mr Raissi compensation.

Amerdeep Somal, IPCC commissioner for the case, said: "This has been a complex investigation and the actions of the Metropolitan Police have to be viewed in the context of the tragic events of September 11. We have concluded that the arrest and subsequent detention of Mr Raissi for seven days was reasonable given the available information. However, part of the evidence that led to the American authorities taking an interest in Mr Raissi was generated by a MPS (Metropolitan Police Service) investigation that concluded in May 2001. When that investigation concluded, the ownership of an address book, as well as some of its content, had not been established. Had these inquiries been pursued at the conclusion of that investigation, it is possible the British and American interest in Mr Raissi may have concluded sooner."