Egypt says it is not prepared to hand over a biochemist detained in connection with the London bombings, said Egyptian security officials, as British investigators attended sessions questioning him.
Magdy Mahmoud Mustafa el-Nashar, 33, was arrested on Thursday in Cairo after British officials supplied his name to Egyptian authorities.
Investigators in Leeds reportedly found traces of explosives in the bathtub in his flat.
An Egyptian security official said interrogating el-Nashar was a matter of "sovereignty" and would be carried out on Egyptian soil.
Egypt's Prosecutor General said Egypt's constitution bans the extradition of Egyptian citizens in connection to crimes committed abroad.
In the absence of an extradition treaty with Britain, Maher Abdel Wahed said the rule would be "quid pro quo"-- reciprocal treatment -- or diplomatic courtesy.
He didn't elaborate. However since the 1990s Egypt has repeatedly appealed to Britain to hand over wanted Egyptians living in Britain on asylum status or having British citizenship.
London has rejected the calls on the grounds that Egypt applies capital punishment, and in view of its human rights record, which human rights groups say includes the systematic use of torture.
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