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Dr Toben had been expected to face a tough legal fight over his extradition early next year in the High Court inLondon.

He was arrested while in transit atLondon’s Heathrow airport on October1 under a warrant accusing him ofracism and publishing anti-Semitic views.

But Westminster Magistrates Court district judge Daphne Wickham ruled the extradition could not go ahead because the warrant contained only “sparse” details about Dr Toben’s alleged offences, including exactly what they were, as well as where and when they took place.

“This judgment makes no determination as to whether the (alleged) conduct (of Toben) … amounts to an extradition offence,” Judge Wickham said.

“But I do find the particulars in the warrant are vague and imprecise. Therefore I don’t find it to be a valid warrant and I can discharge the defendant.”

Granting Dr Toben bail, the judge laid down a set of strict conditions including that he come up with pound stg. 100,000 ($247,465) in cash as security. He had to reside at a specific address approved by British authorities and report daily to police but not use the internet, speak to the media or attend public meetings.

Dr Toben’s lawyers had argued that the arrest warrant was fatally flawed because it did not detail the time and place of the alleged offences, nor the 64-year-old’s exact involvement.

Lawyers acting on Germany’s behalf had said Dr Toben should be extradited so he could be put on trial for posting anti-Semitic and revisionist material on the internet between 2000 and 2004 in Australia, Germany and in other countries.

The case caused alarm in Britain about freedom of speech because, unlike in Australia and Britain, Holocaust denial is a crime in Germany and offenders can face up to five years in jail. Dr Toben, who founded the Adelaide Institute, was supported during his hearing by supporters including British Holocaust denier David Irving and former Australian beauty queen Michele Renouf.

When Dr Toben was released, Mr Irving said: “We defeated Germany again; we’ve defeated Europe in fact. We’ve always believed in freedom of speech in this country, no matter how crazy people’s views are.”

German prosecutor Andreas Grossmann, the Mannheim district prosecutor handling Dr Toben’s case, had told The Australian that he expected Dr Toben to be on trial in Germany early next year.

Mr Grossmann also warned that, although most prisoners in Germany served a third to a half of their sentences, the stubborn refusal of long-term Holocaust revisionists to recant their views meant they usually failed to win parole.

“These people have little chance of getting out before the end of their full sentence,” Mr Grossman said.

As a foreign citizen, Dr Toben would normally be sent back to Australia halfway through any sentence to serve the remainder of his term, but that move, too, would be threatened by a refusal to recant.

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Toben, who founded the Adelaide Institute, appeared briefly at a London court today after being arrested at Heathrow Airport on Wednesday under a European Union warrant issued by a German court.

He has been remanded in custody, with a bail hearing set for October 10 at Westminister Magistrates Court followed by an extradition hearing a week later.

Watching on from the public gallery was a small band of supporters, including Irving, who branded Toben’s arrest “a disgrace on the name of Britain”, and Lady Michele Renouf, an Australian-born, British-based socialite known for her support of Holocaust denial.

The District Court of Mannheim in Germany wants Britain to extradite Toben for allegedly publishing material which allegedly rejects or plays down whether the Holocaust ever happened.

Unlike in Britain, Holocaust denial is a crime in Germany and offenders can face up to five years in jail.

Speaking to reporters outside the court Irving, who has been banned in the past from entering Australia on “character grounds”, condemned Toben’s arrest.

“I disapprove of some of his views but he has the right to express them,” Irving said.

“What we have seen here is Nazi Germany in pinstriped suits and it’s going to get worse.

“Ironically he is finding himself as an Australian in a kangaroo court in Germany.”

Irving, an historian who has written several books defending Adolf Hitler and denying the extermination of six million Jews during World War II, was jailed in Austria two years ago for glorifying Nazism.

While Irving says he is unable to afford to offer any money to secure Toben’s release on bail, he is willing to have the Australian live with him at his home at Windsor, west of London, while the extradition case continues.

“I wanted him to know all of his friends are here and we won’t abandon him,” Irving said.

During today’s hearing, Toben’s barrister Ben Watson told the court that the case “strikes at the heart of freedom of expression” and “the interpretation of racism and xenophobia”.

“This is an extremely important case,” Watson said.

“It strikes at the heart of the controversial European arrest scheme…and that is whether it’s possible for a person to be extradited from a country when their conduct wouldn’t be an offence in that country.”

A warrant for Toben’s arrest was issued in 2004, claiming he denied, approved or played down the mass murder of the Jews by the Nazis in material he published on websites in Australia, Germany and other countries.

Toben argues he should not be extradited to Germany because he could never receive a fair trial there.

He was given a 10-month jail sentence in Germany 1999 for publishing a newsletter denying the Holocaust but after being granted bail, fled to Australia.

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Dr Toben, a German-born former schoolteacher, was en route from the United States to Dubai when he was arrested.

He has been remanded in custody ahead of a bail hearing on 10 October and a full hearing on 17 October.

He has previously been convicted in Germany for breaking a law that prohibits denying or “playing down” the mass murder of the Jews under Hitler.

But some human rights campaigners have backed his case, saying that his views - however unpleasant - do not make him a criminal in the UK.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), acting for the German authorities, argues that agreements signed in 2003 between the UK and other European countries mean that Britain is duty-bound to assist the German authorities.

But Mr Huhne, a former MEP, told BBC Radio 4’s Today Programme that countries could “pick and choose” cases in which they would apply warrants issued by fellow EU member states.

The Lib Dem home affairs spokesman said there were good legal grounds for refusing to participate. He cited the case of Belgium, which is refusing to send suspects to Poland on murder charges which related to abortion.

Mr Huhne said: “There is a clear precedent for doing this and I think we should in this case.”

Dr Toben has in the past described the Holocaust as “a lie” and has claimed on his Australian-based website, the Adelaide Institute, there was “no proof” Hitler systematically exterminated the Jews.

While stressing that he was completely opposed to anti-semitism, Mr Huhne said: “We don’t in this country tend to prosecute people for issues that we regard as issues of freedom of speech.”

Mr Huhne said the case seemed “pretty dodgy” given the fact the offence was not committed in Germany.

In his court appearance earlier this week, Dr Toben, 64, claimed he was the victim of a “legal ambush” and promised never to return to Britain if he was allowed to leave.

Judges will decide whether the alleged conduct constitutes an extraditable offence.

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