A man who was being hunted for the murder of a policewoman is understood to have escaped from Britain by disguising himself as a veiled Muslim woman.

Mustaf Jama, a prime suspect in the fatal shooting of PC Sharon Beshenivsky, assumed his sister’s identity — wearing the niqab and using her passport — to evade supposedly stringent checks at Heathrow, according to police sources.

The use of the niqab, which leaves only a narrow slit for the eyes, highlights flaws in British airport security.

“The idea that in any circumstances you could be let through passport control wearing a veil is barely credible,” he said. “Doing so when an all-persons bulletin for murder has been issued demonstrates that our borders are not just porous — they are non-existent.”