Former British Special Forces officer Simon Mann, accused of leading a coup plot to topple the government in Equatorial Guinea, is to be extradited to the oil-rich West African nation.

South African president Thabo Mbeki was regularly informed of the progress of an attempted coup in Equatorial Guinea which was also sanctioned by the United States, Britain and Spain, a state witness testified today.

Mark Thatcher – suspected of financing a coup plot in Equatorial Guinea - will have to answer questions from the West African nation’s investigators, a court ruled today.

The court hearing a coup trial in Equatorial Guinea suspended proceedings indefinitely today, heeding prosecutors’ requests for more information about the alleged role of Sir Mark Thatcher and other British financiers.

Hatched by Old Etonians and other members of the British political and financial elite, an alleged scheme to seize control of Equatorial Guinea flush with petrodollars was no ordinary African coup plot.