A judge ruled today that the jailed radical Islamist cleric Abu Hamza al-Masri can be extradited to the US, where he could face terror charges.
The senior district judge Timothy Workman gave his ruling at City of Westminster magistrates court in London today.
Hamza now faces being handed over to US authorities, where he could be tried for 11 charges including his alleged involvement in a plot to take 16 westerners hostage in Yemen in 1998.
Four of the hostages, three Britons and an Australian, were killed when Yemeni troops stormed the militants' hideout.
The American government further alleges the cleric was involved in a global conspiracy to wage jihad against the US and other western countries.
He is also accused of helping to set up a terrorist training camp in America and of funding the trip of a would-be jihadist to a terrorist training camp in the Middle East.
According to the US department of justice, the maximum sentence in the US for hostage taking is the death penalty or life imprisonment, but a departmental spokesman, Dean Boyd, refused to speculate on the nature of the punishment Hamza could face if convicted.
The ailing 49-year-old cleric also faces a maximum sentence of up to 100 years in prison on the other charges, if found guilty.
Commenting on the ruling, Boyd said: "We continue to closely watch the proceedings in the United Kingdom governing this extradition request and are hopeful that, upon their completion, Abu Hamza will ultimately be able to stand trial in New York."
The final decision to extradite Hamza now rests with the home secretary, Jacqui Smith.
After the ruling, Alun Jones QC, defending, immediately announced he would be making submissions to the Home Office.
He added he would also be writing to the attorney general urging that the most serious offences be prosecuted in the UK on the basis that three UK citizens were killed in the hostage-taking incident, while no US citizens were killed.
Jones added he would be asking British officials to consider the judge's criticism of the harsh conditions in America's notorious Supermax prisons where Hamza would be held, particularly in light of his poor health and disabilities.
Jones also claimed incarceration in the US would give Hamza almost no access to his large family - who could be barred from entry to the US.
But the judge rejected this claim, saying the gravity of the allegations and the public interest in honouring the extradition treaty "outweighed the inevitable interference with Hamza's family life".
Workman ruled that Hamza should remain in custody pending the secretary of state's decision, expected within days.
If the extradition is approved, it remains uncertain when Hamza would be handed over to the US authorities.
The Egyptian-born cleric is currently serving a seven-year jail term in Britain for inciting his followers to murder non-believers, but is due to be released on parole next year.
Hamza could therefore be allowed to serve out the custodial part of his sentence in the UK before his extradition.
However, the UK Extradition Act 2003 does allow for "temporary surrender" of defendants who are already serving a prison sentence in the UK.
This means Hamza could be tried in the US and then returned to the UK to complete his jail term, following which he would be transferred to the US to serve out any sentence handed down to him by an American court.