The Qatada saga

Few hearts will be unduly lifted, therefore, by yesterday’s claim by Theresa May that a new agreement has been signed with Jordan. In fact, to be fair to the Home Secretary, she herself wasted little time in dampening expectations by admitting that, even if the new treaty has the desired effect, it is likely that the radical Muslim cleric will still be in Britain for several more months.

In any case, as bitter experience has shown, even if the case for deportation appears watertight, there is every chance that the judges charged with interpreting European human rights law will disagree.

After all. even though it would seem that the deal with Jordan guarantees that no evidence derived from torture would be used in Qatada’s prosecution – the latest stumbling-block in this dismal story of legal wrangling – nothing is certain until the next judge to hear the case issues his ruling.

But even if Qatada’s deportation gets the green light, the fact that the case is effectively starting all over again means that he will be able to lodge new appeals, meaning that there is every chance that Mrs May’s months could yet turn into years.

Tantalisingly, however, the Home Secretary hints at another option. If Britain could temporarily suspend its membership of the European Convention, Qatada could be shipped out of this country 
without any laws being broken.

This would, of course, be a controversial move. But considering the overwhelming public agreement that the British taxpayer should not pay a further penny to support this terrorism suspect, it has to be an option worth pursuing.