London: In a pre-dawn raid, the Scotland Yard today (May 27, 2004) arrested controversial cleric Abu Hamza al-Masri on an extradition warrant issued by the US Government.

A spokesman of the Scotland Yard said that the 47-year-old cleric was arrested at his home in West London at 0300 hrs local time (0730 IST) this morning.

Abu Hamza, who preaches outside the Finsbury Park mosque in North London, will appear at Bow Street Magistrates' Court later in the day.

He is currently fighting attempts to strip him of his UK citizenship.

The spokesman said Hamza's home was being searched by anti-terrorist officers under the Extradition Act 2003.

The Egyptian-born preacher is at the centre of a deportation battle with the Home Office, which wants to remove his citizenship, gained through marriage in 1981.

His lawyer has argued that stripping him of citizenship would leave him Stateless and would be a breach of his human rights.

He had been a regular preacher at the Finsbury Park mosque until he was banned by the Charity Commission in February 2003 which accused him of abuse of his position for "personal and political, rather than charitable purposes".

But Abu Hamza has continued to preach to worshippers outside the mosque, which was closed for repairs after a police raid in January 2003.

He is in the custody of the Metropolitan Police Service anti-terrorist branch in a central London police station.