BRITAIN: Britain's most high-profile radical Muslim cleric, who applauded the September 11th attacks and last week's space shuttle crash, has been removed as head of the mosque where he preached.
The UK Charity Commission said yesterday that Abu Hamza al-Masri "had used his position within the charity to make inappropriate political statements".
His north London mosque was raided by police last month in an investigation into the discovery of ricin poison.
Egyptian-born Masri, whose missing eye and hook in place of his right hand have helped make him a hate figure in British tabloids, said he would ignore the ruling.
"The reason for banning me is for making political comments against America and Israel," he told Reuters.
Masri was already at the centre of a row this week after tabloids reported he had "gloated" over Saturday's crash of the space shuttle, Columbia, and the death of its crew.
"It was a trinity of evil against Muslims, because it [the shuttle] contained Americans, an Israeli and a Hindu," he was widely reported as saying.
The commission, which regulates some of the mosque's activities because it is a registered charity, said in a statement it had acted "to protect the reputation of the mosque".
Masri would still be free to pray at the building, currently closed following the police raids.