Abu Qatada could be released on bail as confusion over deportation continuesReported by Metro.co.uk on Thursday, 19 April 2012 (on April 19, 2012)
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*Radical cleric Abu Qatada could be released on bail as the confusion over the government's bungled attempts to deport him to Jordan rumbles on.
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Abu Qatada could be released on bail as the confusion over the government's attempts to deport him rumbles on (Picture: AP)
Home secretary Theresa May has been accused of not knowing what day of the week it was with regards to the Home Office’s plans to deport Qatada.
Ms May has continued to insist she was correct to arrest the preacher on Tuesday so he could be sent to face trial in Jordan.
But the European courts said she seemed to have got her dates muddled and Qatada had appeared to have lodged an appeal just within a three-month time limit.
European official Nathalie Chene said: ‘I would say that it just in time but of course the court may decide otherwise.’
Tory MP Douglas Carswell told Metro: ‘It would be helpful if we had officials in the Home Office who could read a calendar.’
The muddle has arisen because Qatada was given three months to appeal from Jaunary 17. Ms May, thinking his time was up, arrested him on Tuesday, April 17.
Home secretary Theresa May has continued to insist she was correct to arrest the preacher on Tuesday so he could be sent to face trial in Jordan (Picture: Getty)
But Qatada, who claims evidence gained through torture will be used against him in Jordan, put in his appeal at 11pm, earning a reprieve from deportation.
Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper said the confusion played into the hand’s of Qatada’s lawyers. ‘When the Home Secretary is accused of not knowing what day of the week it is, chaos and confusion have turned into farce. But this farce has serious consequences,’ she added.
Senior Labour MP Keith Vaz said the government’s highly paid barristers had been ‘outwitted’ by a North London firm of legal aid solicitors.
Ms May told MPs the appeal was out of time, while David Cameron said Qatada was a danger to Britain and he wished he could ‘put him on a plane and take him to Jordan myself’.
Tory MP Charles Walker urged her to ignore the ruling by putting the ‘scumbag and his murderous mates on a plane out of the country’.
The result of the confusion is that Qatada could be released on bail in the next couple of weeks after special immigration appeals commission judge Mr Justice Mitting said he would consider bail if deportation was ‘not imminent’ in two to three weeks.
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