Extradition delays cause 'real fury', says top judge

Extensive delays in cases such as the extradition of the radical cleric Abu Hamza are a "source of real fury", the Lord Chief Justice, Lord Judge, said yesterday.

Lord Judge said any case that takes eight years through a series of legal processes and has still not come to a conclusion was "a source of real fury to me". He was responding to a question about Abu Hamza's extradition to the United States, which has again been put on hold pending a further hearing next week.

"I'm not going to comment about any individual case, but any case that takes eight years to come to a conclusion – and hasn't yet come to a conclusion – is a source of real fury to me," Lord Judge said.

"It's not fair to anybody. It's not right. And that's all I can say."