A FUGITIVE terror suspect who escaped surveillance by disguising himself in a burka does not pose "a direct threat" to people in the UK, the Home Secretary has said.

Theresa May made the statement as she attempted to allay concerns over the whereabouts of Mohammed Ahmed Mohamed, 27, who is thought to have been trained and fought overseas for Somalia-based al-Shabaab, which is part of al-Qaeda.

He got away by changing from western clothes at a west London mosque before emerging wearing a full burka. He is the second person to breach a Terrorism Prevention order since December last year using such a method.

Mrs May, in a statement to MPs, said police and the security services did not regard him as a direct threat to people on these shores. She added he was put on the order to prevent his travel to support terrorism overseas.

"The police have urged anyone who sees Mohamed or knows of his whereabouts not to approach him but to call 999 or to contact the anti-terrorist hotline," Mrs May said.

"Their focus is to locate and arrest Mr Mohamed. They are doing everything in their power to apprehend him as quickly as possible and the Government will provide them with all the support they need."

Mrs May addressed the Commons as she came under increased pressure to explain how Mr Mohamed was able to abscond.

Earlier, shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper described the situation as "extremely serious".

"Clearly police and security agencies will be doing everything possible to locate this terror suspect and ensure public safety," she said.

Ms Cooper added that Mrs May needs to "provide rapid information about the extent and adequacy of the restrictions" on Mr Mohamed.

Somalia-born Mr Mohamed, who is 5ft 8in and of medium build, is "not considered at this time to represent a direct threat to the public", Scotland Yard said. He was named after a court-imposed anonymity order was lifted by the Home Secretary to allow police to make a public appeal.