ABU HAMZA AL-MASRI, the radical Muslim cleric, was in direct contact from his home in London with the leadership of al-Qaeda in Afghanistan, a court was told yesterday.

Abu Hamza, who was born in Egypt and is described as a member of the global conspiracy to wage jihad against the United States and other countries, was appearing at the top-security Belmarsh Magistrates’ Court, southeast London, to hear an American request for his extradition.

Michael Butsch, a senior FBI agent, listed the alleged reasons why the former imam of Finsbury Park mosque, North London, should face trial in the US.

In an affidavit read to the court he told how James Ujaama, a man referred to in court as Co-conspirator No 1, became ill after going to Afghanistan with a letter from the cleric giving him safe passage through Taleban territory.

Outlining the close contact that Abu Hamza had with Osama bin Laden’s men, Mr Butsch said: “At one point, while travelling in Afghanistan, CC1 became ill and reported it to Abu Hamza (in London) during a telephone call.

“Within a day or so Ayman al-Zawahri arrived to treat CC1. He is one of Osama bin Laden’s top lieutenants.”

The doctor, who is known as the operational brains of al-Qaeda and bin Laden’s No 2, advised Ujaama to eat honey with black seeds.

The network of conspiracy included, but was not limited to, England, Pakistan, Yemen, Afghanistan and the US, the court was told.

As Mr Lewis outlined his case, Abu Hamza sat in the dock surrounded by four prison officers, a security guard and a welfare officer.

Wearing a pale blue shalwaar kameez, Abu Hamza, who had apparently had his hook removed for security reasons, sat with his arms thrust into his pockets. For much of the proceedings his one good eye was closed, and his head lolled forward.

His lawyers told the court that he was unwell and District Judge Timothy Workman said that he could leave the court if he felt ill, which he did after 90 minutes of the proceedings.

Abu Hamza faces 11 charges in the US, where he is accused of playing a key role in bin Laden’s al-Qaeda terror network. The allegations also relate to a hostage-taking incident in Yemen in 1998 in which three Britons were killed.

He is also accused of trying to set up a terrorist training camp in the US state of Oregon and sending another radical Islamic fundamentalist to Afghanistan to fight with the Taleban.

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