May defends government over Qatada deportation

Ms May responded to an urgent question on Thursday from shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper after the radical cleric’s lawyers lodged an appeal with Europe’s human rights court on Tuesday, effectively putting moves to return him to stand trial in his native Jordan on hold.

The Home Office said the deadline for Abu Qatada to appeal against his deportation had passed before the application to appeal was submitted, but his lawyers said the deadline was 24 hours later.

His removal to Jordan on bomb plotting charges will now be delayed until a panel of judges in the Grand Chamber of the ECHR decides whether to hear the case.

The cleric was arrested at his London home by officials from the UK Border Agency on Tuesday.

The Home Secretary insisted the appeal was launched after the deadline expired at midnight on Monday, but that the court had no automatic way of rejecting it on those grounds.

But she told MPs: “Despite the progress we have made the process of deporting Qatada is likely to take many months.

“The fact that he is trying to delay that process by applying for a referral to the Grand Chamber (of the ECHR) after that deadline had passed and after he had heard our case in Siac (the Special Immigration Appeals Commission) is evidence of the strength of our arguments, the weakness of his, and the likelihood of our eventual success in removing him from Britain for good.”

But in heated exchanges in the Commons, shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper labelled the situation a “farce” and criticised Mrs May for “partying with X Factor judges” as Qatada’s lawyers launched their appeal.

Read more: Why has Britain been unable to deport Abu Qatada?

The ECHR originally blocked Abu Qatada’s deportation to Jordan on 17 January.

The judges ruled that, while they were satisfied that the preacher would not face ill-treatment in Jordan, the UK could not deport him without assurances from Jordan that evidence gained through torture would not be used against him in any subsequent trial there.

Ministers believe the three-month deadline for appealing against the ECHR ruling passed on Monday night and, on Tuesday, Home Secretary Theresa May told MPs that she had received fresh guarantees from Jordan that Abu Qatada would face a fair trial.