Gary Glitter, the 1970s Glam Rock star, should not be allowed to leave the UK after he lands on British soil, the Home Secretary said today.

But, in reality, Jacqui Smith is powerless to stop Glitter travelling overseas unless police have evidence that he is intending to travel to commit child sex offences.

Glitter, 64, will be met by Metropolitan Police officers when he arrives in Britain tomorrow, interviewed about his plans and told he will go on the sex offenders register.

“We need to control him, and he will be, once he returns to this country," Ms Smith said.

"It certainly would be my view that, with the sort of record that he’s got, he shouldn’t be travelling anywhere in the world. I want Gary Glitter to be controlled whilst he’s here, and I don’t want him to be able to go anywhere else in the world in order to abuse children.”

Glitter was released from a jail in Vietnam today after serving 27 months of a three year jail term for abusing two girls aged 11 and 12. He was deported from the country and is en route to the UK.

He will join more than 30,000 people on the sex offenders' register when he arrives in the UK tomorrow morning.

Glitter, whose real name is Paul Gadd, will be on the register for the rest of his life. He will be required to give police his name, date of birth, home address and national insurance number.

Police will take a photograph of him, and he must re-register in person each year at a police station.

Under the terms of his registration, Glitter must inform police within three days if he changes his name or address. He must also disclose if he plans to spend more than seven days or more away from home.

Glitter will also have to notify the police of any plans to travel outside the of UK for more than three days. If he breaks the terms of his registration, he could face a prison sentece of up to five years.

Although Glitter will not be subject to any formal court-ordered supervision, he will be monitored under multi-agency public protection arrangments (MAPPA) which keep an eye on offenders who pose a risk to the public.

The agencies - police, probation, housing autorities and local councils - will draw up plans to manage the risk that offenders pose including surveillance of, and regular meetings with, offenders.

But, at present, the authorities are powerless to place a foreign travel ban on Glitter or a sexual offences prevention order which would prevent him from approaching young people.

Police can apply for a sexual offences prevention order only if they have evidence that, in the previous six months, a person is at risk of offending again.

They can only seek a ban which would stop Glitter travelling overseas if they have evidence that he is intending to travel to commit offences.

Dr Zoe Hilton, a policy adviser to the child protection charity NSPCC, said that when Glitter returns to the UK he could be managed to minimise the risk to children.

She added: "It would be appalling if he was able to go off to another country where he poses a high risk to children."

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