A Brit who was kidnapped by an Islamist gang who were demanding the freedom of Shahid Butt - a convicted terrorist - says he is not fit to stand as a councillor in Birmingham.
Butt, who will be an independent candidate in Birmingham in May's local elections, was jailed for five years in 1999 for conspiring to bomb the British consulate and other targets in Yemen.
During the trial, Eric Firkins was among a group of 16 tourists kidnapped by an Islamist terror gang who demanded the release of Butt and his co-accused in return for their freedom.
Four of the tourists captured were murdered, and Mr Firkins said he was 'very lucky to escape with my life' in the terrifying ordeal as at one point he had 'a terrorist point a Kalashnikov at my chest'.
Since his release and return to the UK in 2003, Butt claims he has turned his back on jihad - or Holy War - and has spent more than two decades guiding youngsters away from extremism.
Mr Butt is standing in the inner-city Sparkhill ward, which has a 91 per cent ethnic minority population - nearly 70 per cent of whom practise Islam.
However, former chemistry teacher Mr Firkins says he does not believe Butt has put terrorism behind him.
'I don't think Shahid Butt is fit to be an elected representative in a democracy,' he told The Telegraph.
During Shahid Butt's trial for for conspiring to bomb the British consulate and other targets in Yemen, Eric Firkins was among a group of 16 tourists kidnapped by an Islamist terror gang
Shahid Butt - who will be an independent candidate in Birmingham in May's local elections - was jailed for five years in 1999
'He doesn't sound genuine or consistent in what he says about putting terrorism behind him,' Mr Firkins said.
'Mr Butt continues to proclaim his innocence, but he was sent by Abu Hamza to train in terror and see what it was like to fight for Islam.
Mr Firkins says he has been left concerned by his campaign, which included supporting calls for protests against Maccabi Tel Aviv when they played Aston Villa in Birmingham last November.
He added that it was 'heinous' that Butt and his gang had embraced violence in the name of Islam and that it had 'terrible repercussions around the world'.
Butt was convicted by a court in Yemen in 1999 after prosecutors said he was part of a militant group planning attacks on Western targets, including the British consulate in Aden, an Anglican church, and a Swiss-owned hotel. They denied the charges.
The then 33-year-old - who was born in Pakistan before moving to Birmingham at an early age with his parents - was sentenced to five years in prison for associating with armed groups, 'plotting murder and destruction', and possessing weapons.
The case involved eight Britons and two Algerians and was linked to Islamist militants operating in the Middle Eastern country.
During proceedings, it was heard that Butt and the group had been sent to Yemen by Abu Hamza, the hook-handed and one-eyed Finsbury Park mosque hate preacher who is now serving a life sentence in the USA after being extradited in 2012 on terrorism charges.
Butt supported calls for protests against Israeli football club Maccabi Tel Aviv when they played Aston Villa in Birmingham last November. He is pictured here protesting
During his 1999 trial, it was heard that Butt had been sent to Yemen by Abu Hamza, the hook-handed and one-eyed British hate preacher who is now serving a life sentence in the USA after being extradited in 2012 on terrorism charges
Butt (pictured as a younger man) says he found Islam after attending protests near Parliament against the publication of The Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie in the late 1980s
The defendants were said to have trained at a militant camp run by national Zein al-Abidine al-Mihdar, who was later sentenced to death for his role in the kidnapping of 16 Western tourists.
Four hostages - three Britons and one Australian - were killed during a rescue attempt by Yemeni security forces.
The would-be councillor served his sentence in full and was released aged 38 in December 2003, returning to the UK under escort from a British consular official.
There is no public record that his conviction was ever quashed.
Mr Butt grew up in Sparkhill, where he became part of an Asian street gang called Lynx - which fought skinheads and racists in the area - for which he was jailed.
He says he found Islam after attending protests near Parliament against the publication of The Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie in the late 1980s, which some Muslims claimed blasphemed their religion.
In the mid-90s Mr Butt provided aid to Bosnia's Muslims, who were facing a genocide by Serbs.
He later joined the war with jihadi fighters.
The activist says he fought in Afghanistan and Kashmir in the late 1990s and was a lieutenant to hook-handed imam Abu Hamza, who preached violent jihad at Finsbury Park Mosque, north London.
Since returning to Britain, Butt has given talks in schools and at public meetings about radicalisation and his past experiences, which he said serves as a warning to others.
Despite his criminal past, Butt, a father-of-five and grandfather-of-two, is seeking election in the forthcoming Birmingham City Council elections.
He will stand under the Independent Candidate Alliance (ICA), backed by Akhmed Yakoob, a Birmingham solicitor and former parliamentary candidate in Ladywood, and Birmingham activist Shakeel Afsar.
The ICA was formed in early 2025 to back independent local candidates, with a focus on inner-city issues.
Responding to the concerns over him standing as a councillor, Butt said: “To be honest, all this has been said before and more. The far Right and those that don’t want to see Muslims who have integrated into British society and still hold firmly to their faith, will never be happy with anything we do.
“I have answered all these points on multiple occasions through interviews, podcasts and my own social media. These gentlemen are free to say what they want. It makes no difference to me and the many people that support me.”