A suspected terrorist with close ties to Waltham Forest has fled to Syria with his family despite a travel ban.

Siddhartha Dhar, also known as Abu Rumaysah, was a founding member of Islam4UK and is a close associate of Walthamstow-based Islamist cleric, Anjem Choudhary.

He was arrested in September on suspicion of encouraging terrorism as part of a probe into the banned extremist group al-Muhajiroun, which was led by Choudhary.

He was ordered to hand in his passport, but left London on a coach to Paris.

It is believed he is now in Syria with his wife and four children under the Islamic State.

Mr Rumaysah has appeared at a number of press conferences held by the Islamist group Waltham Forest Muslims.

Members include Ricardo MacFarlane, 36, of Boyden House in Walthamstow, and Jordan Horner, 29, of Radbourne Crescent in Walthamstow, who were members of the so-called Muslim Patrol.

They were jailed last year for harassing people on the street if they were perceived to be acting in an un-Islamic way.

Speaking following the convictions, Abu Rumaysah said the men would be welcomed back into the fold.

He said: “I’m not condemning them outright, but I can’t promote the manner in which it was done.

“The best I can say is that there’s a better way of doing things. I’m not going to condemn them."

Mr Rumaysah acknowledged that the judicial system he espouses includes whipping gamblers, cutting off the hands of thieves and executing homosexuals.

He is also an associate of Ibrahim Abdullah-Hassan, 28, of Carr Road in Walthamstow, who was jailed for inciting terrorism.

Abdullah-Hassan, also known as Abu Nusaybeh, was arrested on May 24 last year immediately following an interview on BBC Newsnight, during which he claimed his friend, the killer of soldier Lee Rigby Michael Adebolajo, had been offered a job by MI5.