The terrorist who led the Paris terror attacks in November visited to the UK on a fake passport last year, according to reports.

It is claimed that Abdelhamid Abaaoud arrived in Kent on a false passport before travelling to London.

A senior source close to the investigation into the Paris attacks reportedly told The Sun newspaper that Mr Abaaoud had visited the UK but that they did not know why.

The Belgian national is thought to have been the ringleader of the attacks, with 10 other armed terrorists working with him.

He was killed at a police siege in the Paris suburb or Sant-Danis days after the attacks after officers followed a taxi to an address.

Seven of the attackers are believed to have been killed during the operation, which lasted six hours.

Mr Abaaoud, who is of Moroccan descent, grew up in the Brussels neighbourhood of Molenbeek, which is blighted by high unemployment and has a large migrant population.

He had been implicated in previous foiled attacks in France and had been sentenced to 20 years in prison in absentia, according to French interior minister Bernard Cazeneuve.

In pictures: Paris attacks Show all 25 1 /25 In pictures: Paris attacks In pictures: Paris attacks Paris attacks French police with protective shields walk in line near the Bataclan concert hall Reuters In pictures: Paris attacks Paris attacks Rescuers evacuate an injured person on Boulevard des Filles du Calvaire AFP In pictures: Paris attacks Paris attacks French Vigipirate troops mobilize next to Place de la Bastille AFP In pictures: Paris attacks Paris attacks French soldiers mobilize near to the Place de la Bastille AFP In pictures: Paris attacks Paris attacks Wounded people are evacuated outside the scene of a hostage situation at the Bataclan theatre EPA In pictures: Paris attacks Paris attacks People react as they gather to watch the scene near the Bataclan concert hall Reuters In pictures: Paris attacks Paris attacks French police secure the area outside a cafe near the Bataclan concert hall Reuters In pictures: Paris attacks Paris attacks Rescuers workers evacuate victims near the Bataclan concert hall AFP In pictures: Paris attacks Paris attacks French Prime Minister Manuel Valls and French President Francois Hollande attending an emergency meeting at the Interior Ministry AFP In pictures: Paris attacks Paris attacks Spectators invade the pitch of the Stade de France after explosions were heard outside AP In pictures: Paris attacks Paris attacks A man lies on the ground as French police check his identity near the Bataclan concert hall Reuters In pictures: Paris attacks Paris attacks Police officers man a position close to the Bataclan theatre AFP In pictures: Paris attacks Paris attacks Wounded people are evacuated from the Stade de France in Paris EPA In pictures: Paris attacks Paris attacks Two men evacuate the Place de la Republique square in Paris as a police officer looks on AFP In pictures: Paris attacks Paris attacks Football fans are evacuated from the Stade de France stadium In pictures: Paris attacks Paris attacks An armed police officer Dan Gabriel In pictures: Paris attacks Paris attacks The Stade de France is evacuated after reports of an explosion In pictures: Paris attacks Paris attacks A member of the French fire brigade aids an injured individual near the Bataclan concert hall In pictures: Paris attacks Paris attacks Wounded people are evacuated from the Stade de France in Paris In pictures: Paris attacks Paris attacks Police are seen outside a cafe in 10th arrondissement of the French capital Paris, In pictures: Paris attacks Paris attacks Rescuers assist an injured man on Boulevard des Filles du Calvaire, close to the Bataclan concert hall AFP In pictures: Paris attacks Paris attacks The scene at a restaurant in 10th arrondissement In pictures: Paris attacks Paris attacks The Bataclan theatre - where around 100 people are thought be held hostage In pictures: Paris attacks Paris attacks The Stade de France as it was evacuated In pictures: Paris attacks Paris attacks Forensic experts inspect the site of an attack outside the Stade de France stadium in Saint-Denis AFP

His whereabouts in the run-up to the attacks were a source of confusion to intelligence agencies, however. He was stated by Isis to have been in Syria.

In an interview published in Isis’s English-language magazine Dabiq in February, Mr Abaaoud said he had secretly returned to Belgium to set up a “safe house” from which to plan attacks.

“The intelligence knew me from before as I had been previously imprisoned by them," he said, boasting that he had still managed to slip away after the Verviers raid,” he said, according to a translation by the BBC.

“I was even stopped by an officer who contemplated me so as to compare me to the picture, but he let me go, as he did not see the resemblance! This was nothing but a gift from Allah.”

The fighter often went by Umar al-Baljiki, an alias. As a child he attended one of Belgium's top secondary schools, Saint-Pierre d'Uccle, but dropped out.