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| Version 2 | Version 3 |
|---|---|
| Abu Hamza: the Queen asks the right question | Abu Hamza: the Queen asks the right question |
| (6 days later) | |
| "Yes, I thought I'd drop that in. She told me." | "Yes, I thought I'd drop that in. She told me." |
| The remark by Frank Gardner, the BBC's security correspondent on Radio 4's Today programme this morning may tell you more about him than the Queen. | The remark by Frank Gardner, the BBC's security correspondent on Radio 4's Today programme this morning may tell you more about him than the Queen. |
| Most journalists like to brag about the privileged circles they move in, though not their individual sources. Gardner mischievously added some spice even though the Queen may not be amused. | Most journalists like to brag about the privileged circles they move in, though not their individual sources. Gardner mischievously added some spice even though the Queen may not be amused. |
| "Actually I can tell you," he told James Naughtie, "that the Queen was pretty upset that there was no way to arrest him [Abu Hamza]. She couldn't understand – surely there had been some law that he had broken?" | "Actually I can tell you," he told James Naughtie, "that the Queen was pretty upset that there was no way to arrest him [Abu Hamza]. She couldn't understand – surely there had been some law that he had broken?" |
| It is not at all surprising the Queen was puzzled about why Hamza had not been arrested and put on trial years before he was convicted and sentenced for seven years in 2006 for soliciting murder and racial hatred. Many people were asking the same question. | It is not at all surprising the Queen was puzzled about why Hamza had not been arrested and put on trial years before he was convicted and sentenced for seven years in 2006 for soliciting murder and racial hatred. Many people were asking the same question. |
| Moreover, the Queen receives all intelligence reports sent to her senior ministers - reports signed by C, the chief of the MI6, in green ink are sent to whichever palace or castle she is staying in. She is said to be an avid reader of the reports. | Moreover, the Queen receives all intelligence reports sent to her senior ministers - reports signed by C, the chief of the MI6, in green ink are sent to whichever palace or castle she is staying in. She is said to be an avid reader of the reports. |
| David Davis, shadow home secretary at the time, said after the conviction: "It would appear the only reason Hamza was actually prosecuted was because the US was seeking his extradition. No 10's claims that adequate laws are not available to prosecute is nonsense - six of Hamza's convictions were under the 1861 Offences Against the Person Act, three of his convictions were under the 1986 Public Order Act and only the least important charge was under the 2000 Terror Act - which in any case would have allowed for prosecution in 2001, rather than 2005." | David Davis, shadow home secretary at the time, said after the conviction: "It would appear the only reason Hamza was actually prosecuted was because the US was seeking his extradition. No 10's claims that adequate laws are not available to prosecute is nonsense - six of Hamza's convictions were under the 1861 Offences Against the Person Act, three of his convictions were under the 1986 Public Order Act and only the least important charge was under the 2000 Terror Act - which in any case would have allowed for prosecution in 2001, rather than 2005." |
| An MI5 undercover agent and a close Hamza associate told the Guardian that the preacher, who was first arrested in 1999, was an "unwitting" informant for the security services. | An MI5 undercover agent and a close Hamza associate told the Guardian that the preacher, who was first arrested in 1999, was an "unwitting" informant for the security services. |
| Abu Qatada is another radical Islamist cleric who has escaped trial for many years though he will never be prosecuted here (he is detained, awaiting deportation to his native Jordan). Qatada was detained in 2003, 10 years after coming to Britain after spending 10 months apparently on the run. | Abu Qatada is another radical Islamist cleric who has escaped trial for many years though he will never be prosecuted here (he is detained, awaiting deportation to his native Jordan). Qatada was detained in 2003, 10 years after coming to Britain after spending 10 months apparently on the run. |
| Qatada offered to act as an informant for MI5. He had a number of meetings with an MI5 officer in which he claimed he could persuade extremists not to commit terrorist acts in Britain. In one report, the MI5 officer noted: "He [Qatada] claimed to wield powerful, spiritual influence over the Algerian community in London and was confident that he could use this influence to prevent any terrorist repercussions." In a later report, the MI5 officer noted that Qatada "said that those over which he had influence were no risk to the country's security". | Qatada offered to act as an informant for MI5. He had a number of meetings with an MI5 officer in which he claimed he could persuade extremists not to commit terrorist acts in Britain. In one report, the MI5 officer noted: "He [Qatada] claimed to wield powerful, spiritual influence over the Algerian community in London and was confident that he could use this influence to prevent any terrorist repercussions." In a later report, the MI5 officer noted that Qatada "said that those over which he had influence were no risk to the country's security". |
| In less controversial remarks on the Today programme which he need not apologise for, Gardner said that MI5 was slow to respond to the threat Hamza posed. The same could be said about Qatada. I was told at the time that both men were all "mouth and no trousers" - ie full of bluster. | In less controversial remarks on the Today programme which he need not apologise for, Gardner said that MI5 was slow to respond to the threat Hamza posed. The same could be said about Qatada. I was told at the time that both men were all "mouth and no trousers" - ie full of bluster. |
| That may have been a serious misjudgment. It may have encouraged the two men to appear as informants only to become increasingly poisonous and dangerous preachers. | That may have been a serious misjudgment. It may have encouraged the two men to appear as informants only to become increasingly poisonous and dangerous preachers. |
| It may also help to answer the question posed by the Queen. | It may also help to answer the question posed by the Queen. |
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