Radical cleric is told he will be expelled from mosque

The radical Muslim cleric Abu Hamza al-Masri, who has made a series of inflammatory remarks about a war against the West since the 11 September atrocities, is facing expulsion from his mosque in north London.

Abu Hamza, 45, who lost his hands and left eye fighting in Afghanistan, has been told he has until Monday before he is expelled by the Charity Commission from the Finsbury Park mosque.

But he is vowing to keep preaching at the mosque until he is arrested. It is run by the North London Central Mosque Trust, of which Abu Hamza is an officer. He is accused of bypassing the trustees, in effect taking over the mosque and using it for political ends in breach of charity rules.

The Charity Commission, which regulates charities, has sent him a Provisional Removal Order telling him he must leave the mosque.

Abu Hamza said that if the Archbishop of Canterbury had a right to discuss war on Iraq, he should be able to comment on the so-called war on terror. He said his legal team would appeal against the expulsion.

The commission said Abu Hamza's sermons were of "such an extreme and political nature" that they conflicted with the trust's charitable status. It also said the cleric's association with the mosque was damaging the reputation of the charity running it.