Home >> Terrorism >> Counter-Terrorism Email Print The Spy and The Terrorist: The Real Story Lewis Panther - 2/12/2006 Glen Jenvey is the real-life hero who nailed terror chief Abu Hamza. The would-be James Bond tricked the hook-handed hate cleric into handing over the video tapes which brought about his downfall last week. Gravel-voiced Jenvey posed as a fellow terrorist supporter who wanted to bring death and destruction to Britain. Jenvey even set up a website praising Al Qaeda to lure the Finsbury Park hate preacher into his trap. The sophisticated sting led to jail for Britain’s public enemy number 1 after his crucial evidence set off a chain reaction of events around the world.
It gave FBI investigators - who already saw Hamza as a British Bin Laden - enough proof to jail one of his American disciples for setting up a terror base in the US.
The tapes showing Hamza preaching hate side-by-side with Taliban supporter James Ujaama persuaded the American to plead guilty to terror charges.
Until then, Ujaama had always claimed he never met Hamza or even knew who he was. But with the threat of a 25-year sentence, the American provided hundreds of pages of testimony against Hamza in return for just two years in jail.
That forced British police to arrest Hamza after US prosecutors asked for him to be extradited - and led to the seizure of the race hate tapes used against him at the Old Bailey.
Jenvey, 40, said: “I’m glad that I’ve helped get him jailed because I could see he was truly evil from the start. I was asked to sign a statement saying I was willing to give evidence in the US when I was interviewed by the anti-terror squad back in 2003.
“But the tapes have obviously been damning enough to put him away here.”
Those tapes reveal the pair at a metting at Finsbury Park Mosque calling for a Islamic revolution. (world-wide against arab governments).
“I hated him for what he was doing, so I suppose it was a bit of crusade against Hamza.
“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.”
Jenvey, who lives in a sleepy Berkshire village miles away from the inner city areas where Hamza preached, went on: “I was concerned about the things he had on his website, which I felt were threatening to both the UK and the US.
“But the only way to get close to him was to become a fanatical Islamic terrorist like him.
“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.
“It wasn’t the hardest thing to do - as I’d had the experience of getting inside a group to spy on them when I worked as the Tamil Tigers press officer to spy on them for the Sri Lankan military.
“But it had become an obsession bringing Hamza down and I jacked in my job as a van driver to spend all hours posing as a fanatical Muslim.
“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.”
Jenvey went on to reveal the tense moment when he first spoke to Hamza.
He said: “I was sat in a bedroom pushed up into the corner like all home computer geeks seem to do.
“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.
“I said hello in Arabic and went on to complain that no one was doing anything to help our brothers abroad, that muslims were being killed around the globe and no one said anything.
“I said we needed to do something and I need his help. During this time Hamza was praying down the phone while I was talking but not overpowering my speech.
“He was listening. I said I had to be careful but I needed some video tapes. Not just the normal stuff but real jihad stuff that I could make into films and recruit British muslims in the south west of England to raise funds for Kashmiri terrorist groups which was called The Brothers in Kashmir.
“I tempted him with the promise that it would get more people into his mosque in London.
“Although I had to listen through his demented rants and prayers, he didn’t take much persuading to agree to let me have the tapes, so I could recruit young Muslims in the south west/east of England.
“Within a month, he sent 20 audio tapes, and a week later we got the two-hour video tapes.
“They had titles like “The Way of the Shabah, Jihad conference March 12, 2000, The battle of Taweed today August 10, 1998 and lesson one Tafseer of the Quran, Hamza UK.
“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.
“Everyone will be aware of Hamza’s pure hatred now, but it was a real shock to me when I first saw them.”
The videos show graphic scenes of muslim fighters talking about carrying out suicide missions and massacres of Muslims.
And in one of the videos, obtained by the johnathangaltfilms.com , Hamza praises Muslims for carying out suicide attacks - as long as they kill more kuffars (those who don’t believe in Islam).
“There’s no question about it. The tapes Hamza handed over to me were designed to spread his hate-filled messages,” explained Jenvey.
“They were aimed at turning young Muslims into terrorists. Who knows, he probably sent the same things to the 7/7 bombers.”
Jenvey made his findings available to the FBI, who were putting evidence together to link Hamza to a terrorist plot in Oregan.
Officers from Scotland Yard’s anti-terrorist branch took statements from Jenvey after a request from the FBI and passed it on to their US colleagues.
The statement made on June 6, 2003, by Jenvey said: “I am willing to be interviewed by the US authorities in relation to this matter and if required I would be willing to travel to the USA and provide evidence in open court.” but no action was taken by british government or police?
The evidence is ready to be used now by US government prosecutors in New York, where Hamza is wanted for setting up a terrorist training camp.
The FBI claims Hamza is part of a plot to provide weapons training to American mujaheddin on a cattle ranch in Bly, Oregon along with fellow fanatic James Ujaama, who is being held in the US.
The charges carry a 25-year jail sentence.
Sources close to the case say they will press for his extradition to America after he has served his sentence in the UK.
A video that Jenvey has handed over to the johnathangaltfilms.com shows Hamza sitting next to Ujaama at a meeting.
That tape was used against Ujaama by the FBI.
When he was first arrested, he denied knowing Hamza. But when he was shown the tape he changed his plea against terrorist charges to guilty.it was this video that brought down Hamza.
And he is the key witness against Hamza if he is handed over the US authorities.
Hamza is also wanted in Yemen for his alleged role in organising the 1998 kidnappings of 16 tourists by the Islamic Army of Aden.Hamza is sat next to two of the kidnappers 5 months before the events calling for westerners to be killed.
Four of the hostages died during a shootout during a rescue operation.
BACKGROUND ON HOW JENVEY GOT INTO SPYING
“I’d been in spying for other countries before. It was something I just fell into after I went travelling in the 1990s.
“My father had been in the military and I suppose that’s what I wanted to do - and I knew the Americans would be interested in stuff from inside Iran - so I contacted the military attache at the embassy in London.
“It might seem strange to people, but I’m not the type of person to go on beach holidays. Whenever I go anywhere I find out where the embassies are after I get off then plane.
“I only spoke over the phone to the miliary attache at the US embassy, but it was clear they wanted information from inside the country.
“It was all very casual, but I could tell they were keen to get on-the-ground information.
“From there I went on to spy on the Tamil Tigers after becoming their press officer.” Lewis Panther writes for News Of The World, one of Europe's largest newspapers.
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