A notorious Liverpool criminal who was behind an unprecedented plot to pervert the course of justice has been released from prison.
John Haase was jailed for 22 years in 2008 after it emerged that he was behind an elaborate deception which led to then-Home Secretary Michael Howard releasing him from prison in the 1990s.
Haase and his relative Paul Bennett were released just one year into their 18-year jail sentences after they received a Royal Pardon from Mr Howard.
The criminals were freed after they provided crucial information which led police to a series of arms dumps on Merseyside.
But a subsequent police investigation found that the Liverpool men had used criminals on the outside to plant the guns.
They even ensured that Irish cigarette cartons were left at some of the dumps, to given the impression of an 'IRA connection.'
But a massive investigation led by the Metropolitan Police revealed the scale of the duplicity. Haase and Bennett were both jailed for life in 2008.
However the ECHO can now reveal that Haase, now 70, has been released from prison and is said to be back in Liverpool.
The ECHO has approached Haase for a comment.
The ECHO understands that Haase was released from HMP Full Sutton last year. He is said to be fit, healthy and back in the gym.
A former pal has said that he has seen Haase at the bus stop on Park Road, Dingle.
Haase, from Everton, was a member of the notorious 'Transit Mob' gang which carried out violent robberies on post office vans.
He was jailed for 14 years in the early 1980s for robbery.
When Haase came out he made the important career change from robbery to drugs.
Haase, known for his self-confidence, was one of the first Liverpool men to deal directly with the the feared Turkish syndicate.
He said that he thought he was going to die when armed police arrested him on a London street in the early 90s.
Haase and Bennett were then implicated in a massive drugs' plot and jailed for 18 years each .
Judge David Lynch, who jailed the men, said that he could not risk exposing them as informants in court, which could have led to a threat to their lfe.
So he sentenced the men to 18 years in prison each, and then wrote to Home Secretary Michael Howard, recommending that he offer the men a Royal Pardon.
Mr Howard has said that he acted in good faith based on the recommendations of senior officials and judges.
They were both released from prison a year into their sentence, and rumours began to circulate that the well known gangsters were back in Liverpool.
In July 1997 the ECHO revealed that Haase had become a partner in a door firm called Big Brother Security.
The Crosby-based company secured the contract to provide security at Stanley Market.
Haase's lawyer said then that his client was trying to 'integrate himself back into society.'
In a subsequent interview with the ECHO in January 1998 Haase said that his life had changed trajectory after 'falling in love' and he was no longer interested in crime.
However Haase later became the target of a massive police operation, with officers suspecting the Everton crook was using Big Brother as a front for organised crime.
Haase, now based at Stanley Dock, was moving guns between Liverpool and Scotland.
The north Liverpool man was jailed for 13 years in February 2001 for selling automatic firearms and receiving the proceeds of drug trafficking.
Haase, then an arch criminal, cast a malevolent presence at the high security hearing.
The court was on lockdown amid fears armed men could try and free him and shoot their way out.
However then-Walton MP Peter Kilfoyle then began investigating the decision to release Haase and Bennett as the city swirled with dark rumours. An affidavit signed by Haase emerged in which he claimed that he paid money to Michael Howard. But this was not true.
The pressure from Mr Kilfoyle and investigative journalist Graham Johnson led to a major investigation led by the Met.
It then emerged that Haase and Bennett had led police on a 'merry dance' using pals on the outside to plant weapons. In one instance they planted machine guns at a squirrel sanctuary in leafy Formby.
In 2010 Paul Cook, who had been Haase's customs handler, was charged with corruption.
He was later cleared of any wrongdoing after a trial.
The trial heard that Mr Kilfoyle and then West Derby MP Bob Wareing both helped to expose the role played by Haase and Bennett in winning their freedom.
Last year the ECHO obtained a copy of an official memo which revealed there was 'political interest' in the activities of Haase and Bennett.
The memo was sent to Paul Cook in August 1998.
