The execution of Saddam Hussein appeared to be imminent tonight after his lawyer said American forces have handed over the former dictator into Iraqi custody.

An official close to Nouri al-Maliki, the Iraqi Prime Minister, told The Times that the deposed president could be hanged "within hours" and a judge who served on the appeals panel which upheld his death sentence said that he would be executed by tomorrow at the latest.

"Saddam will be executed today or tomorrow," said the judge, Munir Haddad. "All the measures have been done."

In a last ditch attempt to prolong his life Saddam's lawyers were making an application to a US judge against the transfer of the former dictator to the Iraqi authorities.

But a senior Iraqi official was quoted by the AP press agency as saying he will be executed before 6 am Baghdad time (0300 GMT).

The time was reportedly agreed upon during a meeting between US and Iraqi officials with Saddam due to be handed over shortly before the execution.

The appeals court decided on Tuesday to uphold the death sentenced passed on Saddam for ordering the massacre of 148 Shia Muslim villagers after a failed assassination attempt in 1982. It said that the sentence should be implemented within 30 days.

Since then speculation has been rife as to the timing of the dictator's death, which many fear could set off another spate of sectarian killing.

Saddam has been held in US custody at Camp Cropper prison, where he was to remain until he is ready to die. Yesterday he held a final meeting with two of his half-brothers, to whom he passed on his will.

The official close to the Prime Minister said that the Government had decided to move quickly on the execution "because a lot of Iraqis believe in conspiracies and thought a group might help him escape".

The road to the gallows was expedited this morning after a phone call between Mr al-Maliki and President Jalal Talabani, a Kurd who has opposed the use of the death sentence.

In their conversation, the leaders agreed that the three-man presidency’s council endorsement was not needed to execute Saddam since the jailed dictator’s case came before a special tribunal and not the regular Iraqi courts, the official said.

It was also being debated whether to hold the execution inside the confines of Camp Cropper, the high security prison inside the Baghdad airport where Saddam is detained, in the Green Zone, or the Kahdamiyah women’s prison, where most state executions are carried out.

But it appeared to be imminent after Saddam's main defence lawyer, Khalil al-Dulaimi, claimed that he had been handed over to Iraqi custody.

US State Department spokesman Tom Casey later said he believed Saddam was still in US custody.

He said: "My understanding is that there’s been no change in his status."

Saddam’s body will be buried in a secret location, possibly even next to the corpse of the late al-Qaeda terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. "Eventually, his body could be handed to his family, but after things have settled down in Iraq," the official said.

Iraq’s National Security Adviser, Mowaffaq al-Rubaie, confirmed that Saddam would be buried by the Government and that a decision on whether to hand his body over to his family would be made at a later date.

Mr Rubaie added that Saddam’s execution would be filmed for historical purposes, but not released to the public. But the official close to Mr Maliki said pictures of Saddam’s corpse would likely be released to the public.

Times Recommends

• Thousands of Tamils dying in 'welfare camp'
• Jackson 'rebuilt his nose before he died'
• Renewed Iran protests crushed by militia