Slightly over three years ago the British police took the extraordinary step of raiding a mosque in Finsbury Park. Many officers, dressed in riot gear and armed with battering rams, forced their way into the Islamic worship center. Was this justified? They took much flack for this at the time. The police have recently issued a report on their findings after Abu Hamza's trial on race hate charges came to a successful prosecution.

The stash of equipment included chemical warfare protection suits, or NBC (nuclear, biological and chemical) suits, as they are technically known. They were found together with three blank-firing pistols, a stun gun and CS spray. Officers also found a gas mask, handcuffs, hunting knives and a walkie talkie.

Police also found more than 100 stolen or forged passports and identity documents, laminating equipment, credit cards and chequebooks hidden under rugs and concealed above ceilings. One officer recalled pulling down part of a ceiling to find passports raining down on him.

This should silence those who claimed the raid was unjustified. However, when I started doing some research into these findings, I also found a story behind the story. A key factor in the successful prosecution of Islamic cleric Abu Hamza came from a civilian, Glen Jenvey. Without Jenvey's actions, Abu Hamza might have gotten away with his claims that he did not know about all the illegal items being stored in his mosque.

On his own volition, and on his own time and time, Jenvey determined to go after Hamza because he foresaw how much of a threat Hamza could be.

I’d spied on people before - bizarre as it sounds - as a bit of a hobby, because I was interested in it. And I suppose I fancied myself as a bit of a spy. Hamza came to my attention after Al Qaeda blew up the USS Cole in 2000 and Muslim terrorists came to much greater prominance. I’d been looking into the Tamil Tigers in London for years and grew to loathe all terrorists. But Hamza struck me as being worse than them, just like Hitler who he praised in his videos. That’s why I was determined to bring him down.

So I set up a false website called Islamic News, which praised jihadis around the world. I also set up links to other websites, including Hamza’s “Supporters of Shariah”, tricking them into thinking I was hellbent on forming some kind of Islamic state.

I passed on the information I found, but found people weren’t paying much attention. Then September 11 came and made me more determined to focus on Hamza and bring him to justice. I telephoned him directly, saying I was the press officer for a Kashmir terrorist group. I also emailed him telling him that I had a brother who was recruiting terrorists and raising funds for the Kashmir group. Then when I spoke to him on the phone again I told him that it would help if I had tapes of his speeches. I was getting fed up with waiting for the video tapes to come so I picked up the phone and rang Hamza, who I called Hook because of the metal hook he has for a hand. [Editorial note: Hamza has a hook because a bomb exploded while Hamza was working on it. Hamza claims he was trying to defuse a land mind. Most people believe the Islamic cleric was creating a terrorist bomb and it prematurely detonated.]

Within a month, he sent 20 audio tapes, and a week later we got the two-hour video tapes. I was shocked by what they showed because Hamza was clearly calling for Muslims to rise up here and in America. And it was clear to me that this person sitting there in the middle of the table inside the mosque was more than just a hate-filled preacher. His knowledge of the attacks on the US embassies in Africa and the USS Cole are far too detailed for him to be anything other than involved. He has to have links with the attackers. In one of the videos he shows off an Arabic doumantary about the making of the Twin Towers and I’m sure they were all made before September 11. It all added up to Hamza being a major player in the terrorist world.

There’s no question about it. The tapes Hamza handed over to me were designed to spread his hate-filled messages. They were aimed at turning young Muslims into terrorists. Who knows, he probably sent the same things to the 7/7 bombers.

Jenvey's findings have been used by the FBI and Scotland Yard as part of the fight against terrorism. I am amazed and grateful for Jenvey's efforts. If anyone wants to put together a true, albeit political correct, documentary, I would suggest Jenvey's life would make for a fascinating film.

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