For years he was the face of radical Islam in Britain – a living caricature of the ‘mad mullah’ — the hook handed, eye patch wearing cleric Abu Hamza. Famous for holding congregational prayers on the streets of Finsbury Park and railing against the West, the era of Abu Hamza is now finally drawing to a close
Yesterday, the European Court of Human Rights refused a request by Abu Hamza and four others to have their case referred to its Grand Chamber. This means they have now exhausted all their avenues of appeal through the Strasbourg courts and will soon be extradited to the United States.
The Home Office has already told the BBC that Abu Hamza will be removed from the country ‘as soon as possible’. His departure will mark the end a remarkable chapter in the history of Britain’s curious, at times utterly inexplicable, relationship with radical Islam.
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