Qatada’s deportation may take months, warns Home Secretary

Although it is hoped the Jordanian cleric will be put on a plane within weeks, his legal team are likely to challenge all moves to deport him.

Fears were raised by Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper that he could still be in Britain when the Olympics – a high-profile terrorist target – start in July.

Mrs May, who earlier this year voiced hope Qatada could be deported ahead of the London games, said any appeal would have to be based on “narrow grounds”, and the Government was confident of its “eventual success”.

She added: “I believe the assurances and the information we have gathered will mean that we can soon put Qatada on a plane and get him out of our country for good.”

Earlier Qatada was arrested at his London home by UK Border Agency (UKBA) officers.

He was returned to jail after a rapidly convened court hearing found deportation was imminent and the chance of Qatada trying to abscond had increased.

Judge, Mr Justice Mitting, said: “If the parties act with great rapidity it is possible that this very long-running saga can be brought to a rapid conclusion within a matter of at most a very few weeks.”

Qatada, wearing a black coat, sat in the dock at the Siac hearing in central London as his legal team said they would fight any moves to deport him.

Edward Fitzgerald QC, representing Qatada, said the arguments for deportation were based on “a series of unsubstantiated claims”.

But if he challenges the order and it is then promptly dismissed, a judicial review of the decision could be held as early as April 25, the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (Siac) hearing heard.

Mrs May believes that key assurances she received from Jordan will help overturn the decision by human rights judges in Strasbourg to block Qatada’s deportation to Jordan over fears he would be put on trial based on evidence obtained under torture.

She was told the country’s state security court is not a quasi-military court as the judges in Strasbourg suggested, but a key part of the Jordanian justice system which hears a wide range of cases.

Secondly, she said Qatada’s case “will be heard in public with civilian judges” and “his conviction in absentia will be quashed immediately” upon his return to Jordan.

She was also told he would be held in a “normal civilian detention centre” with access to independent defence lawyers.

His co-accused will still be able to give evidence in his trial, but “what they say in court will have no effect upon the pardons they have been granted”, Mrs May said. “We can therefore have confidence that they would give truthful testimony.”

Mrs May added: “Deportation may still take time. The proper process must be followed and the rule of law must take precedence. But today Qatada has been arrested and the deportation is under way.”

The Home Secretary also said she would be “examining the processes and procedures used in France, Italy and elsewhere to see if our own legislation might be changed to enable us to deport dangerous foreign nationals faster” in future.

The Government will also consider reforms to the Strasbourg-based court at a conference in Brighton later this week, change immigration rules to prevent the abuse of a right to a family life, “and, of course, we need a British Bill of Rights”, Mrs May said.

She added that simply ignoring the court’s ruling was not an option as it would have involved Ministers, officials, the police, law enforcement officers and airlines all breaking the law.