A video of hardline Islamic preacher Abu Hamza, which was said to have been made in Belmarsh Prison, has appeared on YouTube. A photograph of the radical cleric is displayed with an announcement that it is by "Sheik Abu Hamza Al Masri from Belmarsh Prison in Britain". During the three-and-a-half minute clip he delivers nine verses of poetry in Arabic. He praises "the spirit of the martyr" and asks for jihad fighters to be given God's mercy.
Hamza, 49, is serving seven years for spreading racial hatred and inciting the murder of " nonbelievers". The hook-handed cleric preached at Finsbury Park Mosque and was convicted of 11 of the 15 charges he faced. He was found guilty of having audio and video tapes intended to encourage racial hatred and having a document for terror purposes. Conservative MP Patrick Mercer has called for a Home Secretary Jacqui Smith to investigate the alleged Belmarsh video. He said: "How is it this poisonous man seems able to communicate at will with the outside world from within Britain's most secure prison?"
A Prison Service spokesman said: "There is no proof this recording was made by Hamza and no evidence it was made in prison." Neil Doyle, an expert on cyber-terrorism, said: "I have spent hours listening to Hamza recordings. I am 1,000 per cent sure it is him."