The BBC's security correspondent Frank Gardner revealed that the Queen told him she was pretty upset there was no way to arrest the radical cleric Abu Hamza and spoke to the Home Secretary at the time about it.

Hamza was eventually convicted on charges of soliciting to murder and racial hatred.

The revelation comes as the European Court of Human Rights have allowed Abu Hamza, and four other terrorist suspects, to be extradited from Britain to the United States.

Lawrence Whitehouse, whose wife Margaret was killed when they were both taken hostage in Yemen in 1998 in a kidhapping organised by Hamza, said he always thought he "ought to be tried for the part in organising our kidnapping" as he believes there is "little doubt that he was a force" behind it.

The BBC later made a statement saying the conversation between Frank Gardner and the Queen should have remained private and that it 'deeply regretted' the breach of confidence.

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