Terror suspect Abu Qatada was released from Long Lartin prison today after winning the latest round in his battle against deportation.
Qatada was driven away from the maximum security prison HMP Long Lartin in Worcestershire in a black Volkswagen people carrier.
The heavily-bearded cleric, who was sitting in the rear of the vehicle, made no attempt to hide from waiting media cameras and appeared to be smiling.
Earlier Nick Clegg, the Deputy Prime Minister, said the Government is “absolutely determined” to deport Abu Qatada as a legal watchdog warned it could take “years” to remove him.
Qatada was released today and will be allowed to roam free for eight hours a day after a court ruled he cannot be deported to his native Jordan.
The security services and police will watch him around the clock in a surveillance operation that is likely to cost the taxpayer more than £5 million a year.
The terror suspect was granted bail by a senior immigration judge yesterday after ruling that the government had failed to prove he would face a fair trial in Jordan on charges of plotting bomb attacks.
Mr Clegg, the Deputy Prime Minister, said the government would appeal the ruling.
“We’re determined to deport him,” he told ITV’s Daybreak. “We strongly disagree with the court ruling, we’re going to challenge it, we’re going to take it to appeal.
“We’re absolutely determined to see this man get on a plane and go back to Jordan.
“He doesn’t belong here, he shouldn’t be in this country, he’s a dangerous person. He wanted to inflict harm on our country and this coalition government is going to do everything we can to challenge this every step of the way to make sure he is deported to Jordan.”
However, David Anderson QC, the Independent Reviewer of Terrorism Legislation, indicated that it could take years before Qatada can be removed from Britain.
Mr Anderson said he believed the Jordanian government could resolve the impasse by amending the country’s “code of criminal procedure” to satisfy the Special Immigration Appeals Commission, which ordered Qatada’s release yesterday.
But he conceded that the deportation process may then need to start again, including allowing Qatada repeated appeals, before the cleric can be deported.
Mr Anderson told BBC Radio’s Today programme the key to resolving the dispute was with the Jordanian government.
“It's a very frustrating episode for all concerned but as far as I can see this is not the end of the road,” he said.
“What the judge said, what the court said in terms, was that a simple amendment to the Jordanian criminal code so as to remove an ambiguity that is in it at the moment ought to suffice to make deportation possible.
“It would then be possible to say without fear of contradiction that Abu Qatada, if placed on trial back in Jordan, would not be tried on the basis of evidence obtained by torture,” he said.
Such action could see Qatada deported in “months” or “a very few years”, he added.
Jordan’s acting information minister, Nayef al-Fayez, said the Jordanian government shared Britain’s “disappointment” at the ruling.
“From our tentative understanding, there will be an appeal from the British government and accordingly we will be coordinating closely with them to see what are the next steps to be taken,” he told the BBC.
The former Tory security minister, Baroness Neville-Jones, called for reforms to deportation law to allow ministers to decide who should be thrown out of the country.
“The system is now being made a monkey of,” she told Today.
Yesterday, Mr Justice Mitting ordered that Qatada should be released from a high-security prison and imposed bail conditions that only placed him under a 16-hour curfew.
The Home Secretary, Theresa May, had sought guarantees from Jordan that Qatada would receive a fair trial after the European Court of Human Rights ruled earlier this year that he could not be deported because there was a risk he would face evidence obtained by torture.
The Special Immigration Appeals Commission dismissed those assurances and allowed Qatada's appeal against deportation.
It is the latest twist in a legal battle that has run for more than a decade and cost the taxpayer more than £1 million in legal fees and benefits.
Mr Clegg, the Deputy Prime Minister, said the government would appeal the ruling.
“We’re determined to deport him,” he told ITV’s Daybreak. “We strongly disagree with the court ruling, we’re going to challenge it, we’re going to take it to appeal.
“We’re absolutely determined to see this man get on a plane and go back to Jordan.
“He doesn’t belong here, he shouldn’t be in this country, he’s a dangerous person. He wanted to inflict harm on our country and this coalition government is going to do everything we can to challenge this every step of the way to make sure he is deported to Jordan.”
However, David Anderson QC, the Independent Reviewer of Terrorism Legislation, indicated that it could take years before Qatada can be removed from Britain.
Mr Anderson said he believed the Jordanian government could resolve the impasse by amending the country’s “code of criminal procedure” to satisfy the Special Immigration Appeals Commission, which ordered Qatada’s release yesterday.
But he conceded that the deportation process may then need to start again, including allowing Qatada repeated appeals, before the cleric can be deported.
Mr Anderson told BBC Radio’s Today programme the key to resolving the dispute was with the Jordanian government.
“It's a very frustrating episode for all concerned but as far as I can see this is not the end of the road,” he said.
“What the judge said, what the court said in terms, was that a simple amendment to the Jordanian criminal code so as to remove an ambiguity that is in it at the moment ought to suffice to make deportation possible.
“It would then be possible to say without fear of contradiction that Abu Qatada, if placed on trial back in Jordan, would not be tried on the basis of evidence obtained by torture,” he said.
Such action could see Qatada deported in “months” or “a very few years”, he added.
Jordan’s acting information minister, Nayef al-Fayez, said the Jordanian government shared Britain’s “disappointment” at the ruling.
“From our tentative understanding, there will be an appeal from the British government and accordingly we will be coordinating closely with them to see what are the next steps to be taken,” he told the BBC.
The former Tory security minister, Baroness Neville-Jones, called for reforms to deportation law to allow ministers to decide who should be thrown out of the country.
“The system is now being made a monkey of,” she told Today.
Yesterday, Mr Justice Mitting ordered that Qatada should be released from a high-security prison and imposed bail conditions that only placed him under a 16-hour curfew.
The Home Secretary, Theresa May, had sought guarantees from Jordan that Qatada would receive a fair trial after the European Court of Human Rights ruled earlier this year that he could not be deported because there was a risk he would face evidence obtained by torture.
The Special Immigration Appeals Commission dismissed those assurances and allowed Qatada's appeal against deportation.
It is the latest twist in a legal battle that has run for more than a decade and cost the taxpayer more than £1 million in legal fees and benefits.
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