THE radical cleric Abu Hamza al-Masri is to face terrorism charges in Britain which will put attempts by the United States to extradite him on hold.

He is also to be accused of incitement to racial hatred after the Crown Prosecution Service gave approval for him to be prosecuted on other offences related to terrorism.

Abu Hamza, 47, is in Belmarsh top security jail where he is expected to be charged later today either through a paper process or by being taken to the court within the perimeter of the southeast London jail.

He is facing charges of seeking support for murder, which carries a maximum life term, possessing articles or information for terrorist purposes, which carries a maximum ten-year jail term, and incitement to racial hatred, which carries a seven-year term.

CPS lawyers who consulted the Attorney General, Lord Goldsmith, QC, advised police to charge the cleric under British laws.

The decision means that his formal extradition hearing, due to start on Tuesday, will be adjourned until the end of criminal court proceedings in Britain.

But it will anger the US administration who have been pressing Britain not to block the extradition by bringing charges against him. The US authorities lobbied Lord Goldsmith as part of their drive to ensure that Abu Hamza was sent to America to face 11 charges, including kidnapping and plotting to set up al-Qaeda training camps.

He was wanted for questioning in the US over his alleged involvement in the kidnapping of tourists in Yemen in December 1998, in which four holidaymakers died, including three Britons.

Abu Hamza was arrested by Scotland Yard’s anti-terrorist branch in May in an armed raid on his West London house — three months after being held on the US extradition warrant.

He was later released but the investigation was not dropped and the police advice file, based on inquiries over several months and Abu Hamza’s interviews with detectives, was passed to the CPS.

He is expected to be charged under one of his five names — Mustafa Kamel Mustafa, Abu Hamza, Abu Hamza Al-Masri, Mustafa Kamel and Mustafa Mostafa Kamel Mostafa.

The CPS confirmed only that a decision on whether or not to charge had been made but refused to confirm what it was.

A spokesman said: “We have given our advice to the police and the police will now take the appropriate action.”

Abu Hamza’s lawyer was not available for comment.

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