Equatorial Guinea on Tuesday pardoned Mann and released him from prison where he was serving 34 years for his role in the plot to oust Obiang Nguema as head of the African nation.

Mann was reportedly staying in an upmarket hotel in the Equatorial Guinea capital Malabo after an emotional reunion with his family, and was expected to fly back to Britain as early as Wednesday, the Guardian said.

Police will interview Mann over whether other British residents were involved in the plot, according to the Daily Telegraph.

The Metropolitan Police in London declined to comment on the reports, a spokesman telling AFP on Wednesday: "We are investigating whether any offences have been committed in Britain" regarding the plot.

Mann was arrested in March 2004 along with 61 other people when their plane landed in Zimbabwe. He spent four years in a Zimbabwe prison on firearms charges before being deported to Equatorial Guinea.

At his trial there, Mann implicated Mark Thatcher, son of Britain's former prime minister Margaret Thatcher, in the plot to oust Equatorial Guinea's leader, who has run the country since a 1979 coup that ousted his uncle. The plot aimed to bring exiled opposition leader Severo Moto to power.

Moto welcomed Mann's release. He was quoted in the Guardian saying: "I am very, very pleased for the man who wanted to help me."

Mann, who attended Britain's prestigious Eton school and Sandhurst military academy, was said to be the brains behind the coup attempt. He told his trial last year that Spain and South Africa had backed the plot.

The former British Special Air Service officer underwent hernia surgery last year and his state of health was one of the reasons for the pardon, national radio in Equatorial Guinea said.

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