ABU HAMZA, the radical Muslim cleric, faced the threat of extradition to Yemen last night after officials there issued a written request on charges relating to a number of terrorist attacks.

The Yemeni request, issued in the capital Sana’a, alleges the cleric, currently barred from preaching at the Finsbury Park mosque in north London, was active in the Islamic Army of Aden.

Sixteen western tourists were kidnapped by the group in 1998. Four of the captives, including three Britons, were killed during a botched rescue attempt.

Any extradition request would be considered only if a written assurance were given that the death penalty would not be imposed, the Home Office said last night.

Hamza’s son, Mohammed Mustafa el-Masri, has recently been released in Yemen after serving a sentence for terrorist offences.

Yemen acted swiftly after David Blunkett, the home secretary, stripped Hamza of his British citizenship by invoking the Human Rights Act.

Hamza’s solicitor, Muddassar Arani, said Blunkett did not have the power to remove Egyptian-born Hamza’s British citizenship as he held no other nationality and would be left stateless. The move would also breach his right to family life under the act.

Arani said she had “no qualms” about fighting the cleric’s case. She will apply for legal aid for his appeal.

Blunkett said he had taken the decision under a section of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act that came into force last week.

Hamza, 44, is thought to have Egyptian citizenship, although his solicitor denies this.

Blunkett indicated that the action against the cleric was not because of his verbal attacks on western governments but because he had urged followers to wage jihad, or holy war, against British interests abroad.

Hamza has won notoriety through his preaching at Finsbury Park mosque where former worshippers include Richard Reid, the Briton jailed in America for attempting to blow up a transatlantic flight, and Zacarias Moussaoui, the so-called “20th hijacker” involved in the September 11 attacks.

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