Scotland Yard is getting increasingly concerned that procedural problems in Italy, which have prevented British detectives from questioning Osman Hussain, 27, could delay his extradition to the UK.

Reports yesterday that he had been charged in Italy with international terrorism and possession of false documents added to the confusion.

But Hazel Blears, the Home Office Minister, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: "It is my understanding that there are no domestic charges and we will be trying to get extradition as quickly as we can."

The European warrant, which was passed into law by the Italian Senate the day before Hussain's arrest on Friday, provides a means to fast-track extraditions within 90 days. Previously, they could take years.

Domenico Massimo Micelli, the judge in charge of the extradition process, has given UK authorities until Sunday to provide complete "evidence" about Hussain's alleged role in the failed London attacks. Signor Micelli said that he expected the first hearing as early as this week.

However, Italian newspapers were speculating this morning about a longer delay. Richard Owen, Times Correspondent in Italy, said that extradition was not yet a foregone conclusion, especially if Hussain's lawyer, Antonietta Sonnessa, manages to persuade Rome magistrates that his Italian connections are worth further examination.

Owen confirmed that no formal charges had been laid against Hussain in Italy although his arrest had been "validated" by a judge, Zaira Secchi, who confirmed the accusations against him as part of the extradition proceedings.

But he said that Hussain's strategy was "clearly to delay the extradition by collaborating with the Italian inquiry".

Under Italy's new anti-terrorist package approved by Parliament on Saturday, which borrows from anti-Mafia legislation, suspects who collaborate with investigators can be given a residence pemit and new identity.

"His strategy is to collaborate with the Rome magistrates' investigation, to argue that he never wanted to kill anyone - just to make a demonstrative gesture," Owen added.

"He's already collaborated with the Italian police investigation, even to the extent of identifying the alleged fifth bomber, and he and his lawyer clearly hope that this will forestall the extradition process."

Hussain was born in Ethiopia and arrived in Italy in 1989 with his four brothers under his real name, Hamdi Isaac. He moved to London in 1996 and claimed ayslum as a Somalian under the name of Hussain Osman, which is believed to be the name on the UK extradition request.

He has three children with his partner in London, but is believed to have made regular trips to Rome, where friends remembered him as a gangly young man nicknamed Bambi who loved playing basketball and drinking beer. He fled Britain on the Eurostar three days before his arrest.

Although Osman is talking freely to Italian police about the July 21 attacks, the Metropolitan Police are anxious to collect their own information from him.

A senior police source said: "We need to get to talk to Osman Hussain as a matter of urgency. Some of what he says is nonsense but he appears to want to be co-operative in the investigation. He may be able to shed light on some vital questions we have."

Time is running out before the other three men must be charged or released. Yasin Hassan Omar, 24, the alleged Warren Street attacker who has co-operated to some degree with police, must be charged within eight days.

Muktar Said-Ibrahim, 27, the alleged bus bomber, and Ramzi Mohammad, accused of the attempted attack at Oval, can be held for only another ten days. Mohammad’s brother, Whabi, 22, who is being questioned about a discarded fifth bomb, must also be charged in ten days.

The two Mohammad brothers are also thought to have come to Britain as bogus asylum-seekers at the same time as Hussain, using false passports and claiming that they were Somali refugees.

Two more men were being questioned today over the failed bomb attacks, bringing the number of people held by UK police in connection with the inquiry to 20. The men were arrested in three separate raids in South London, last night.

One of the men was said by neighbours in Vauxhall to be called Sharif, of either Ethiopian or Somali origin. The other, arrested in Stockwell, was said to be an Asian man in his late 20s.

In London, police remain on high alert amid fears that a third terrorist cell could be plotting another strike on the capital following the July 7 and July 21 attacks.

Ms Blears, who is in charge of the Home Office while Charles Clarke, the Home Secretary, is on holiday, was today visiting Oldham and Rochdale in the first of a series of meetings with Muslim community leaders to discuss Government initiatives to combat radicalism and promote integration.

She said this morning, however that police should not use racial profiling in their operations to prevent a repeat of the London terror attacks.

Explore UK News

• Crime News

• Education News

• Health News

• Science News

• Scotland News

Times Recommends

• DIY video helps the WI get to grips with sex
• Artists urge nation to save Titians
• Go home, Iraqi leader tells Britain