Hampshire mercenary Simon Mann on trial for his part in a plot to overthrow an African government, is unlikely to learn his fate before next week, his lawyer said yesterday.

Mann,an Old Etonian and ex-SAS officer, who owns Inchmery House in Exbury, near Beaulieu, has admitted trying to stage a coup in Equatorial Guinea to topple long-time dictator President Teodoro Obiang.

Prosecutors say he was the ringleader of a plot financed by Mark Thatcher, son of former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.

The government says Mann, 55, hoped to install exiled opposition leader Severo Moto, who would give them access to the tiny nation's oil wealth.

Mann's lawyer said yesterday that a verdict was not likely before next week.

Government-appointed defence lawyer Jose Pablo Nvo said the three-judge panel will need time to deliberate. He did not rule out the possibility of an appeal if Mann is convicted, but would not comment further.

Mann has admitted that he knowingly agreed to take part in the coup and apologised for his role, but said that he was not a key member of the plot.

Mann also said that Mark Thatcher was not only a financier but an integral part of the group. Thatcher pleaded guilty in a South African court several years ago to unwittingly helping bankroll the operation. He was fined and given a suspended sentence. Mann was extradited to Equatorial Guinea in January from Zimbabwe, where he had already served about four years in prison. The extradition agreement prohibits the death penalty, but Mann could face 30 years in prison if convicted.

Lebanese businessman Mohamed Salaam and six Equatorial Guineans are also defendants in the trial. Salaam is facing a prison term of 28 years if convicted, and the Equatorial Guineans each face four-year terms.

Equatorial Guinea has been trying to prosecute those it says are involved in the plot since soon after the 2004 arrest of Mann and 70 others in Zim-babwe, where they are said to have flown to collect weapons bought from Zimbabwe's state arms manufacturer.

The first trial, in August 2004, resulted in a 34-year prison sentence for South African arms dealer Nick Du Toit.