The Home Office, Foreign Office and police are allowing him to remain.Captain Strasser's forces were accused of torture and murder during his four-year rule, and last night Amnesty International demanded he be brought to justice for alleged crimes against humanity.Amnesty said Britain had an obligation to arrest and detain Strasser for alleged human rights abuses. The Pinochet case had confirmed the authorities must take into custody and investigate anyone alleged to have committed torture, the organisation said."During Captain Strasser's rule in Sierra Leone, government forces commonly tortured and ill-treated those suspected of supporting rebel forces," a statement added. "As we have seen time and again in Sierra Leone, unless those alleged to have committed crimes against humanity are brought to justice the cycle of torture and killing with impunity will go on."Opposition politicians also expressed anger. David Lidington, Conservative home affairs spokesman, said the Government should come clean about Strasser's presence here."If the Government's judgement is that this man's exile is part of a deal to bring greater security and democracy to Sierra Leone, then let's not have this hypocrisy about an ethical foreign policy," he said. "Let's admit that it is realpolitik that is driving these decisions."Jackie Ballard, Liberal Democrat home affairs spokeswoman, accused the Government of sending out mixed messages.

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"This is typical of the double standards we have seen coming out of the Home Office. They are allowing someone in who has a record of human rights abuses while they are giving a difficult time to genuine asylum seekers."Captain Strasser was swept to power in a 1992 coup, and at 26 became the world's youngest national leader. He was ejected by a further coup in 1996 and democracy was restored under the current, embattled president, Ahmed Tejan Kabbah.Amnesty's reports on Sierra Leone during Strasser's rule detailed widespread abuses. Suspected opponents of the government were subject to arbitrary arrest and detention, torture, ill-treatment and extrajudicial execution, they said.Eight months after Strasser came to power, 26 people were executed by firing squad on a beach for reportedly trying to overthrow the government. There were also claims that Strasser had flown to Antwerp in a diamond dealer's private jet to sell gems worth £29m.After Strasser was deposed by his armed forces chief, Julius Maada Bio, he came to Britain to study law at Warwick University. But he dropped out in 1998 after his scholarship from the United Nations Development Project expired Many people believed he had gone back to Sierra Leone. But Strasser had moved to the home of an old school friend, Gibril Samura, in Brondesbury, north London, and he was allowed to remain in Britain.

Mr Samura is employed at the Sierra Leone High Commission in London.A woman who answered his door said Strasser had moved out a year ago, but confirmed he was still in London. But six weeks ago, Strasser told police he was living there, after he was arrested in Kilburn and accused of damaging his former girlfriend's car. Police are officially considering whether to issue a warrant for his arrest over the incident, but are thought to be unlikely to take further action. His ex-girlfriend was believed to be considering dropping her complaint.The Special Branch is said to be aware Strasser is in London The Home Office and Foreign Office confirmed they knew too. The Home Office said he had not been given asylum but would not confirm his status.Last year, Strasser blamed the continuing turmoil in Sierra Leone on politicians and the military and said civilians hungry for power had used his failure to stop the war as a spur for a pro-democracy campaign."You cannot have elections in a country which is in the heat of a civil war," he said. "The military undermined my ability to bring the war to a speedy conclusion, which they eventually used as an argument for my overthrow.".