Bomb suspect was on UK watch-list

London, 28 Dec-(ANA)-A man charged with trying to blow up a plane had been on a UK watch-list, Home Secretary Alan Johnson has said.

Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, 23, was refused a visa in May and was placed on a security list after he applied to study at a bogus college.

The Nigerian man targeted a Detroit-bound flight with explosives hidden in his clothes, it is claimed.

Police are searching several London properties linked to the Nigerian ex-University College London student.

The home secretary said people on the same list as Mr Abdulmutallab cannot come into the UK, although they can pass through the country in transit and are not permanently banned.

Those on a more serious watch-list for terror-related reasons would automatically be passed on internationally.

But this is not always the case with information about a person rejected due to concerns the about an academic application. (ANA)

FA/ANA/28 December 2009---