US to Use British Phone Taps in Abu Hamza Case

Strategic Insights -

Britain's intelligence agencies had obtained detailed evidence of radical cleric Abu Hamza's direct involvement in terrorist kidnapping and murder, but were prevented from using it due to concerns over intercept evidence. The US will now use this evidence to extradite Abu Hamza to the US, where he faces life imprisonment for his alleged role in the 1998 kidnapping of 16 Western tourists in Yemen. The case highlights the ongoing debate on the admissibility of intercept evidence in British courts.

Key Takeaways:

  • The US will use phone tap evidence gathered by British Intelligence in 1998 to try to jail Abu Hamza for life on terrorist offences.
  • British detectives investigating Abu Hamza's alleged links with other terrorist incidents, including the 2005 London bombings, have admitted eavesdropping on conversations between Abu Hamza and Mohammad Sidique Khan, the leader of the 7/7 bomb cell.
  • Former Home Secretary David Blunkett has accused Scotland Yard and the Crown Prosecution Service of delaying action against Abu Hamza, saying that they rejected his warnings because they feared it would trigger a race crisis.
  • In 1999, Britain's intelligence services had obtained detailed evidence of Abu Hamza's involvement in a terrorist plot, but the case had to be abandoned because the evidence was deemed "inadmissible" in British courts.
  • The FBI stepped in and said that if Britain could not use the material, it would. The US indictment against Abu Hamza alleges that he bought and supplied a £2,000 satellite phone for the kidnappers and purchased £500 worth of air time for the device.

Statistics:

  • 16 Western tourists were kidnapped in Yemen in 1998.
  • £2,000 was the cost of the satellite phone supplied by Abu Hamza to the kidnappers.
  • £500 was the cost of the air time for the satphone purchased by Abu Hamza for the kidnappers.
  • 16 Western tourists were kidnapped in Yemen in 1998, with 4 being shot dead.
  • Abu Hamza is charged with sending recruits to al-Qaeda camps in Afghanistan and trying to train terrorists in America.
  • British detectives are still investigating Abu Hamza's alleged links with other terrorist incidents including the July 7 London bombings.

Sources:

  • The Times, 2006
  • The Times, 2002 (BBC interview with Abu Hamza)
  • The Sun (interview with David Blunkett)
  • Source of Michael Howard's quote (unnamed)
  • Source of senior counterterrorist source (unnamed)
  • Source of Home Office (unnamed)