Gerry 'The Monk' Hutch asks to be allowed serve any Regency Hotel sentence in Spanish prison

Court officials in Spain said the gang boss pleaded for permission to stay put instead of being locked up nearer home after he was arrested at his Costa del Sol hideaway last month.

The shock revelation emerged toda as Spain’s Audiencia Nacional court confirmed for the first time Hutch’s extradition to Ireland to face justice had been agreed but was pending an appeal by the Irishman.

They also said his request to do his time in Spain if he was convicted in Ireland had been thrown out.

A well-placed source said three judges would make their decision about Hutch’s extradition “in weeks” but revealed there would be no public hearing to determine whether he should be put on a plane back home.

A source, who deals with extraditions, confirmed: “Hutch applied to serve his sentence in Spain in the event he ended up convicted in Ireland of the crime he is accused of.

“But that application was rejected on the grounds there is no justification for it. Among other things he has no well-established links to this country.”

The source added: “Hutch made it clear during his first appearance before an Audiencia Nacional judge last month that he opposed extradition.

“The Audiencia Nacional’s Court of Instruction Number Two has agreed his handover to the Irish authorities so he can be tried for a crime of murder relating to the killing of David Byrne at the Regency Hotel on February 5 2016 by an armed gang he is suspected of being part of.

“The execution of the extradition is pending the resolution of an appeal presented by Hutch against the extradition decision.”

Another court insider said the appeal decision would be made by three judges representing another criminal court which is part of the Audiencia Nacional set-up.

He said: “There will be no public hearing. The judges will make their decision following submissions from Hutch’s defence team and that will be that.

“We are talking about a matter of weeks before the decision is taken.

“Hutch was held on a European Arrest Warrant so things will move a lot quicker than they would in normal circumstances.”

The Irishman is understood to have appointed a woman lawyer based on the Costa del Sol to represent him.

He is believed to be awaiting the appeal decision in a maximum-security prison near the Spanish capital which is home to the likes of terrorists and convicted killers.

British terrorist Abdel-Majed Abdel Bary is also understood to be at tough Soto del Real jail, the lock-up Hutch is being held in.

Glasgow-born fraudster Michael Brown, the disgraced multi-millionaire who donated stg£2.4 million to the Liberal Democrats, was incarcerated briefly in April 2012 at the same jail after being arrested at his Dominican Republic hideaway and deported to Madrid.