'Paedophile' American diplomat 'smuggled out of London to US in dawn raid under British police's noses'

British police were not told about the operation until after it had already taken place.

The covert extraction was triggered by a US investigation into the man's brother, who is based in America.

Agents are said to have discovered indecent images of children at the suspect's London address.

They are then accused of taking him into custody without any authority to make arrests on British soil.

Marine Security Guards, responsible for protecting the US embassy in London, are thought to have carried out the raid.

The Metropolitan Police and other UK authorities were only notified once the diplomat had already been removed from the country.

Flight records reveal that on August 24, a Kalitta Air Boeing 747-4R7F cargo plane sped from Chicago to RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire - home to a beefed-up US Air Force presence.

The following day, the same aircraft left Fairford at 5.33pm and touched down at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware at 7.44pm local time, a journey lasting seven hours and 11 minutes.

It then continued to O'Hare Airport in Chicago, arriving after a further one hour and 38 minutes of flight time.

Records indicate the Boeing, registered as a cargo aircraft, had not flown to Fairford for at least two months prior to August 25.

A source told The Sun, which uncovered the bombshell accusations: "We think it was a dawn raid before they then took him to the base in a US military convoy."

The operation has dealt a significant blow to UK-US relations, amid deepening rows over the Falklands and a united Ireland, and has triggered accusations of a cover-up.

It could also cast a further dark cloud over Andy Burnham's planned first meeting with Donald Trump at the UN in New York in just over a week.

Crisis meetings are said to have taken place between Scotland Yard and senior ministers, including Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood.

Met Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley is being kept informed, with "well-placed sources" telling The Sun how discussions over the row had "gone to the very top" and been held in his office.

A source said: "This has caused enormous ripples right through to Downing Street and the Home Office everyone is talking about it."

They added: "The Americans' actions have been outrageous and left people utterly furious.

"At first, when they told Scotland Yard they wouldn't even give the address. It's astonishing as this man was living in a private address and potentially committing crimes here yet we weren't told in time.

"There are fears the Yanks are trying to keep this in-house and it's a cover-up. And we now don't know if we'll ever get him back to face British justice."

A US diplomatic source defended the operation, saying: "We acted decisively. If we had ceded ground and waited there could have been delays and diplomacy that could have gone on for weeks or months."

Extradition lawyer Edward Grange, a partner at Corker Binning, said: "The US embassy is not American territory and diplomatic status does not give US law enforcement a free hand to exercise police powers on British soil.

"If extradition was deliberately bypassed, that would raise very serious questions about the legality of the operation."

The Met confirmed that on August 25, US authorities informed them of an investigation into suspected offences in London involving indecent images of children.

The Government said: "We expect all foreign diplomats in the UK to abide by our laws. As a US investigation is ongoing, it would not be appropriate to comment further."

A US embassy spokesman said: "We are aware of allegations concerning an individual assigned to the embassy.

"The United States Government expects all personnel to adhere to the highest standards of conduct, and we take these allegations seriously."