From The Daily Mail

Hate preacher Abu Hamza gets new £650 taps fitted in his prison cell… so he can operate them with his hook

By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 1:11 PM on 16th November 2009

The jail cells used by extremist Muslim preacher Abu Hamza have been specially-adapted to accommodate his hook – prompting angry claims that prison officials are ‘bowing down’ to him.

The cells used by the 51-year-old – who is serving a seven-year sentence for inciting murder and preaching hate  – have been fitted with lever taps costing £650, despite claims he is prefectly capable of using the standard twist ones.

Handrails were also put in the lavatories used by Hamza, who is allowed to wear his prosthetic limb fitted with a hook inside the high-security Belmarsh prison.

Jailed: Hate preacher Abu Hamza, pictured outside the North London Mosque at Finsbury Park surrounded by supporters in 2003

A prison source told The Sun that officials at the jail were always catering to his whims.

‘It seems that whenever he says, ‘Jump’, the authorities ask him, ‘How high?’,’ said the source.

‘No one in here can understand why we’re spending the money to do this when he’s had no problem using the same taps as everyone else for the five years he’s been here.’

Egyptian-born Hamza lost both arms and an eye in a blast in Afghanistan and now uses a hook in place of his right hand. He has been held at Belmarsh, in south-east London, since 2004.

Two cells have already been kitted out for him because prisoners held at the jail are moved every month. The work, all at taxpayers’ expense, took two days.

He had spent 21 months on remand when he was jailed for seven years in February 2006 for inciting murder and preaching hate at Finsbury Park Mosque in North London.

American prosecutors want him extradited to stand trial on terrorism charges, including setting up al Qaeda training camps.

The TaxPayers’ Alliance estimates father-of-eight Hamza has so far cost Britain £2.75million in welfare payments, council housing, NHS and prison bills, trials and legal appeals.

It is feared his fight against deportation could take five years and soak up another £250,000.

A spokeswoman for the Ministry of Justice said: ‘Two cells have been fitted with hospital-style taps to enable disabled prisoners to use them. The cost is approximately £650, which will offset the cost of prison staff providing physical assistance to prisoners.’

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