POP paedophile Gary Glitter is seen browsing a smartphone in a shocking picture that shows him enjoying freedom after his release from prison — sparking a furious reaction from politicians and his victims.
Our exclusive snap shows serial child abuser Glitter, in a beanie hat and wearing multi-coloured socks, gawping at the handset while relaxing on a sofa at a bail hostel.
Shockingly, Glitter, 78 and first jailed after being caught with 4,000 child abuse images on his laptop in 1997, is allowed to use his own internet-enabled smartphone despite his heinous crimes.
And disturbing footage, obtained by The Sun on Sunday, shows Glitter, who has never shown remorse, discussing which search engines to use and referring to accessing the Dark Web.
In the video, he asks a pal: “Shall I get rid of this Duck Duck?”
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His friend replies: “Yeah, I wouldn’t bother using that if I were you.”
Glitter then says: “So what do I do next, then? Let’s try and find this Onion. One step at a time.”
His reference to “Duck Duck” is understood to mean search engine DuckDuckGo, which advertises itself as protecting users’ privacy.
And “Onion”, which Glitter mentions while tapping his smartphone, is said to be a reference to the Dark Web, or Tor network.
Former Det Supt Michael Hames, who set up the Met Police’s Paedophile Unit, told The Sun on Sunday today: “This is extremely disturbing and shows that he’s attempting to access material he should not be accessing.
“People use the Dark Web for nefarious purposes. Why else would you want to be on there? Onion is a slang phrase for Dark Web.”
Another picture of Glitter sees him hiding behind dark glasses and a baseball cap, with long grey hair and matching moustache and beard, in the kitchen at the halfway house.
Gaunt Glitter, real name Paul Gadd, appears to have lost weight and uses a hearing aid.
He was caught on camera mingling with other ex lags at the unit this week.
It comes after he was released last month after serving just half of a 16-year sentence for historic sexual abuse of three girls.
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Former Home Secretary Priti Patel declared: “This is very shocking and makes you feel sick.
“If he’s found to be in breach of his bail conditions it’s right he is returned to prison as soon as possible.
“He has never shown any remorse for his actions and is demonstrating predatory behaviour that is a threat to vulnerable people and children.
“This is about public safety and it’s right that people like him do not have access to the Dark Web.”
Our shocking revelations mean Glitter could be recalled to prison for breaching strict licence conditions.
A source said: “Glitter has been having the life of Riley at the hostel, is friendly with staff and has also made friends with residents.
“But it makes your stomach turn — especially seeing him asking for advice on his phone usage.
“He has also been taking advice on how to use the phone to make international calls via WhatsApp.
“He has apparently got a girlfriend in Cuba, who he wants to go to see — which is a pretty horrible thought.
“He looks really different. It is shocking how much weight he has lost and how gaunt he looks.
“He has also grown his hair and beard as long as he can, although he still has the bald patch on top.
“But there is no mistaking it is him and he still has that air of evil about him.”
Glitter refused to engage with prison sex offender treatment programmes and was released from a Dorset jail under cover of darkness on February 3.
He was driven to a bail hostel in a suburban location in the south of England, where he was expected to stay for a total of three months.
He has a GPS tag and was placed on tough licence conditions. They include a nightly curfew and being barred from going near schools, playgrounds or swimming pools.
Freed prisoners are allowed phones so they can integrate back into society, but the devices can be monitored remotely.
Today specialist abuse lawyer Richard Scorer, of Slater and Gordon which represents one of Gliltter’s victims, said: “I am very concerned to hear about what The Sun on Sunday’s investigation has uncovered.
“Our client already feels his early release was not the justice she was promised and devalues her suffering and that of his other victims.
“Victims continue to live the life sentence that he imposed on them.
“I call on the Probation Service to provide urgent clarification of what steps it is taking to protect children from this man.
“The public is entitled to have confidence in the probation system, so the questions raised by this investigation need to be answered urgently.”
And ex detective Mr Hames, now a safeguarding consultant, added: “Glitter has a total addiction and will always pose a danger to children.
“The fact he has a phone means he could potentially groom people. He could look at images online which would feed his fantasies.
“The best solution would be if he had a simple ‘brick’ phone which you can just make calls on and not access the internet.
“Glitter becomes much more of a danger when he leaves this hostel. It would not surprise me if police and probation were now looking towards getting him recalled to prison.”
Glitter is being monitored under MAPPA — multi-agency public protection arrangements.
The ex glam rocker, who sold millions of records in the 1970s, was first prosecuted after he took his laptop into a PC World for repair in 1997.
A total of 4,000 images were found in the subsequent police investigation and Glitter was jailed for four months in 1999.
He emigrated but was kicked out of Cambodia in 2002 amid claims that he had committed sex crimes.
The paedophile was then jailed in neighbouring Vietnam in 2006 for molesting two girls, one aged ten.
He was arrested again in 2012 at his multi-million pound London home.
In 2015, he was convicted of historic sexual abuse of girls under 13 in the 1970s and 1980s.
Tonight, Ministry of Justice officials were examining the recording of Glitter talking about the internet and appearing to try to access the Dark Web.
A MoJ spokesperson said: “Sex offenders are closely monitored by the police and Probation Service.
“They face some of the strictest licence conditions, including restrictions on internet use. If an offender breaches these conditions, they can be recalled to prison.”
