By Kate O'Hara and Lizzie Murphy
A TAXI driver has told how he drove a Leeds terror suspect to Manchester Airport just hours before his dramatic arrest in connection with the July 7 bombings.
Paul Harrison, who works for Gee Gee Cars in Beeston, picked up fellow taxi driver Mohammed Shakil, of Firth Mount, Beeston, at around 9.37am on Thursday.

Father-of-three Shakil, 30, also used to work for the company, but had recently handed in his notice saying he wanted to spend three or four months with his sick father in Pakistan.

Mr Harrison said: "We were just talking away. He seemed like a normal guy.

"There was a young lad with him. He was sat in the front and Shakil was sat in the back. There didn't seem anything untoward, just talking as normal.

"He just said he was going on holiday for a break to see his dad because he was ill – maybe four weeks to eight weeks."

He said they chatted amicably about taxi driving and went on to discuss Shakil's father's illness.

Mr Harrison said his colleague told him his father was a millionaire who lived in the mountains of Kashmir.

He said he asked the men about religion and whether they drank or not.
"He didn't seem that bothered really," he said.

"I thought he was quite a confident person. They were quite well-spoken, well-dressed. He didn't seem nervous or intimidated or anything."

Asked about the arrest, he added: "I was absolutely shocked because he didn't seem that sort of bloke at all.

"He didn't seem twitchy or nervous and he was talking to the other guy in English as well as talking to me."

Last night the owner of Gee Gees, Abdul Wahweed, confirmed one of his drivers had taken Shakil to the airport.

He said Shakil handed his notice in two weeks ago saying he was going to Pakistan for some time to deal with some family problems.
He had worked for the firm since just before Christmas and was a model employee, Mr Wahweed said. He had worked for a taxi firm in Morley before that.

"Often, if drivers are going to Pakistan for three or four weeks they'll just keep all their stuff but he rang to say he was going for some months and wanted to hand in his radio and everything," he said
"He was a very nice lad. He was so polite and caused us no problems whatsoever.

"I never ever had any complaints about him in the four months he worked for me and he seemed very popular with the customers, especially the elderly people."

Mr Wahweed said Shakil was not picked up from his home at Firth Mount, but was taken from an address in Lodge Lane, less than a mile away.
Shakil's neighbours said he lived with his wife and three children.
One is understood to be a small baby, the other two are believed to be aged about 11 and five.

He was arrested in the terminal building at Manchester Airport with another Beeston man, 23-year-old Shipon Ullah, who lives in nearby Colwyn Road.

The two men were preparing to board a flight to Pakistan.
A third man, Sadeer Saleem, of Rowland Place, Beeston, was arrested a few hours later at his home.

Yesterday searches were continuing at all three houses, as well as two other Beeston homes in Cardinal Road and Tempest Road.
Officers have been stationed outside the properties throughout the day and night.

Forensics officers were yesterday seen taking material away from the semi-detached house in Cardinal Road, and bags were also taken from Tempest Road and Colwyn Road.

Police reiterated that they were not searching for any hazardous materials.

Chief Superintendent Mark Milsom asked the community to be patient, and said it would likely be a matter of days before the searches were complete.

"Searches of houses often take days rather than hours and I think it's going to be a matter of days before things return to normal."
Mr Milsom said he had met representatives of all members of the community, from different races and faiths, and was amazed by how they were pulling together.

"Nobody has been more affected by investigations into terrorism over the last couple of years than our community," he said.

"The overall message is that we are out there walking around the neighbourhood, talking to people, and keeping people informed of any changes."

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