Book: French wanted to kidnap Abu Hamza

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LONDON, May 31 (UPI) -- Books excerpts carried by The Times of London claim France considered kidnapping Islamic hate preacher Abu Hamza from London in 1998.

France, frustrated by Britain's inability to silence Hamza and worried about security at the 1998 World Cup in France, wanted to abduct him so it could deal with him in its own way, according to the book "The Suicide Factory: Abu Hamza and the Finsbury Park Mosque" by Sean O'Neill and Daniel McGrory.

The excerpts say the kidnap suggestion was made at a London restaurant to an Algerian spy by a French Embassy contact to whom the spy was supposed to provide reports on the mosque.

The excerpts say French officials were aware Algerian terrorists had bombed the Paris Metro in 1995 and that some of the suspects were living in London.

It was feared a word from Abu Hamza could trigger an attack at the World Cup. The excerpts say the French felt the British had entered into a Faustian pact with the extreme Islamist groups in London as long as there was no threat and no trouble on British soil.

No kidnapping, however, occurred and in February, Abu Hamza was jailed in Britain for seven years for inciting murder and racial hatred.