The UK government is stuck with a former top Lord's Resistance Army rebel negotiator after the High Court there blocked his planned deportation to Uganda for alleged involvment in terrorist activity.

The State Minister for International Affairs, Mr Okello Oryem, said Mr Willy Oryem, who has been in detention since his arrest upon landing at Heathrow Airport on August 28, has never been "classified as a terrorist".

"We have written to them (British government) to tell us why he has been arrested," said the minister. Ms Peggy Layoo, the suspect's London solicitor, said her client, who suffers from prostate cancer, is in failing health after UK Border Agency (UKBA) officials allegedly confiscated his prescribed medicines.

"UKBA was hostile to Mr Oryem. He was denied access to a lawyer, made to sit for over 24 hours without rest and was interviewed during that time when he was severely fatigued and ill," Ms Layoo said in her application for judicial review.

High Court Judge Sir Andrew Collins said the application for injunction was premature since UKBA had not formally authorised the suspect's deportation. Documents e-mailed to this newspaper show that Justice Collins, granted the injunction and ordered the Secretary of State, to "...answer the matters raised as soon as possible but must not remove the claimant (Mr Oryem) until an answer has been given and the claim has been referred back to a judge".

Our investigations show that Mr Oryem's troubles emanate from a deal he reportedly cut with President Museveni, committing government to return his vast land in Kamokya, now occupied by several tenants, or pocket hefty compensation.

Minister Okello-Oryem suggested that the suspect could be a victim of conspiracy orchestrated by his colleagues. "Our thinking is that this is [a result of] an infighting within the LRA," he said.