An islamic terrorist who plotted to blow up a passenger jet has complained that he is not allowed to use Skype to make low-cost phone calls from jail.
Rajib Karim, 32, wants to use the system, which offers cheap international calls from phones as well as free video link-ups, to contact friends and family in Bangladesh.
But officials at maximum security HMP Frankland in Durham barred the move saying it would pose a serious security risk.
One source said: ‘This guy planned on killing hundreds of people.
'He is a former British Airways software engineer who knows a lot about computers and telecommunications.
'The last thing he should be given access to is a computer or method of free communication.’
Karim was jailed for 30 years last year after being found guilty of planning a 9/11-style terror attack with former Al Qaeda warlord Anwar al-Awlaki.
The father-of-two claims using a prison payphone costs him too much money.
In a letter written to Inside Time, a newspaper for prisoners, he said: 'The international call rates cost a lot using the prison PIN system and the Skype option looked like a perfect solution.
'The best part was that it was legal and no breach of prison rules as the call was made to a direct number and was not being redirected.
'But when I recently tried making my first call I was told by staff here at HMP Frankland that I am not allowed to make any calls through Skype.'
He said he 'tried to explain' how other prisons in the UK reportedly allow inmates to use the service, but said: "The response was a firm "no" as HMP Frankland is part of the high security estate.'
Karim's complaint has been passed on to the National Offender Management Service (NOMS).
He was imprisoned for 30 years last year after Woolwich Crown Court heard he wanted to use his position at British Airways to plant a bomb on a plane as part of a 'chilling' conspiracy with Anwar Al-Awlaki, a notorious radical preacher associated with Al Qaeda.
U.S.-born Al-Awlaki has previously been linked to a number of high-profile terror plots, and was thought to have inspired the 9/11 bombers.
He was killed by a predator drone last September.
Among numerous plots to bring the airline to its knees, Karim hoped he could exploit industrial action by staff to become a cabin crew member and cause an explosion on a U.S.-bound flight.
He was found guilty of four counts of planning terrorism.
Mr Justice Calvert-Smith recommended that Bangladesh-born Karim be automatically deported after he has completed his sentence.
He told Karim: 'The offences were of the utmost gravity.
'You are and were a committed jihadist who understood his duty to his religion involves fighting and, God-willing, dying and then being rewarded in the afterlife.'
Skype is a video and telephone system used by nearly 700million people worldwide that allows people to speak to each other for free. It also lets users speak face-to-face via an online video conferencing facility.
Users can also buy a personalised phone number giving them very cheap calls - charged at local rates - to anywhere in the world.
KARIM'S LETTER OF COMPLAINT TO INSIDE TIME IN FULL
In October you had a Star Letter in the Mailbag pages which was a very useful piece of information.
It explained how our families can purchase a local Skype number for us to call out families who are abroad. The international call rates cost a lot using the prison PIN system and the Skype option looked like a perfect solution.
The best part was that it was legal and no breach of prison rules as the call was made to a direct number and was not being redirected.
But when I recently tried making my first call I was told by staff her at HMP Frankland that I am not allowed to make any calls through Skype.
I tried to explain that according to Inside Time it had been allowed in other prisons but the response was a firm 'no' as HMP Frankland is part of the High Security Estate.
I would be eager to know if any of your other readers tried using the Skype method and that their experience was, especially prisoners from the High Security Estate.
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