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Abu Qatada deported from UK to stand trial in Jordan Abu Qatada deported from UK to stand trial in Jordan
(about 1 hour later)
Radical cleric Abu Qatada has arrived in Jordan to face terrorism charges after being deported from the UK.Radical cleric Abu Qatada has arrived in Jordan to face terrorism charges after being deported from the UK.
His plane left RAF Northolt at 02:46 BST to take him to his home country, which he has not visited in 20 years.His plane left RAF Northolt at 02:46 BST to take him to his home country, which he has not visited in 20 years.
Home Secretary Theresa May said it "marks the conclusion of efforts to remove him." Prime Minister David Cameron said he was "delighted" that his removal had been achieved.
Abu Qatada was first arrested over alleged terror connections in 2001 and the battle to deport him has cost the UK more than £1.7m ($2.5m). Abu Qatada was first arrested over alleged terror connections in 2001 and the UK has been battling to deport him for eight years.
Mrs May added: "This dangerous man has now been removed from our shores to face the courts in his own country." The Palestinian-Jordanian cleric's deportation was finally able to proceed after the UK and Jordan signed a treaty agreeing that evidence obtained through torture would not be used against him.
His deportation was finally able to proceed after the UK and Jordan signed a treaty agreeing that evidence obtained through torture would not be used against him. Home Secretary Theresa May said she was glad that the government's determination to remove him had been "vindicated".
The BBC understands that Abu Qatada was accompanied on the flight of around five hours by six people from Jordan, comprising three security officials, a psychologist, a medical examiner and his Jordanian lawyer. "This dangerous man has now been removed from our shores to face the courts in his own country," she said.
A convoy of three police vehicles left Belmarsh prison in south-east London, where the 53-year-old cleric had been held, at midnight, travelling over Tower Bridge and through the City on its way to the airfield in the west of the capital. She added that she wanted to streamline such deportation processes in future.
The BBC understands Abu Qatada will be taken straight to court in Amman on his arrival in Jordan to hear the charges against him and he will then be taken to prison to await the start of his trial. "I am also clear that we need to make sense of our human rights laws and remove the many layers of appeals available to foreign nationals we want to deport.
BBC home affairs correspondent Dominic Casciani said: "Officials here are incredibly relieved after one of the most tense weeks in the department's recent history. "We are taking steps - including through the new Immigration Bill - to put this right."
"They were so concerned about the possibility that the cleric could change his mind at the last minute that they were leaving nothing to chance. Abu Qatada was accompanied on the flight of around five hours by six people from Jordan, comprising three security officials, a psychologist, a medical examiner and his Jordanian lawyer, the BBC understands.
"Senior officials and the Security Minister James Brokenshire, who has been at the Home Office overnight, were monitoring the deportation minute by minute. The 53-year-old had been held at Belmarsh prison in south-east London, from where a convoy of three police vehicles left at midnight.
"It was only when Abu Qatada finally got on the plane that they knew the long saga had finally come to an end." A family friend who went with Abu Qatada's relatives to Jordan's Marka military airport told BBC Middle East correspondent Yolande Knell that he was taken straight to the state security court, suggesting legal proceedings against him have begun.
The cleric - who did not get to see his family - is expected to be taken to either Juwaida or Muwaqqar prison, our correspondent said.
BBC home affairs correspondent Dominic Casciani said Home Office officials were "incredibly relieved" after "one of the most tense weeks in the department's recent history".
"They were so concerned about the possibility that the cleric could change his mind at the last minute that they were leaving nothing to chance."
Speaking on BBC Breakfast later, Mrs May said she had been provided with updates on the deportation throughout the night.Speaking on BBC Breakfast later, Mrs May said she had been provided with updates on the deportation throughout the night.
She said she had been "as frustrated as the public" about the cost and length of time it had taken to remove Qatada, but that people would welcome the end result. She said she had been "as frustrated as the public" about the estimated £1.7m cost and length of time it had taken to remove Abu Qatada, but that people would welcome the end result.
She said: "The important thing is that they have now seen happen what they wanted - Abu Qatada being deported."
She said she did not have any concerns about the treatment Abu Qatada would face when he arrived in Jordan.She said she did not have any concerns about the treatment Abu Qatada would face when he arrived in Jordan.
She said: "The treaty we've signed ensures that there are proper processes of exchange of evidence and will insure the treatment of Abu Qatada and others deported to Jordan."She said: "The treaty we've signed ensures that there are proper processes of exchange of evidence and will insure the treatment of Abu Qatada and others deported to Jordan."
Mrs May told the programme that the government would now look at making changes to the deportation process in the planned immigration bill. Mrs May said she hoped to reduce the number of appeals open to people fighting to stay in the country and to look at Britain's relationship with the European Court of Human Rights.
She said: "We will be making some changes with the view that in future we can deport people more quickly."
She said she hoped to reduce the number of appeals open to people fighting to stay in the country and to look at Britain's relationship with the European Court of Human Rights.
She said "nothing is off the table" when it comes to negotiating with Europe.She said "nothing is off the table" when it comes to negotiating with Europe.
Prime Minister David Cameron welcomed the deportation on Twitter a few hours after the flight took off. Mr Cameron criticised a "caravan of lawyers" over the Abu Qatada case, adding that it had "made my blood boil that this man who has no right to be in our country, who is a threat to our country and that it took so long and it was so difficult to deport him, but we've done it, he is back in Jordan that is excellent news."
He tweeted: "Deporting Abu Qatada was a priority for this govt, there was a clear plan+a right and stubborn refusal to bow to what many thought inevitable." 'Questions to answer'
Eleventh hour The British authorities told Abu Qatada, whose real name is Omar Othman in 2005 that he would be deported to Jordan, where he had been convicted in his absence of alleged involvement in a plot to target Americans and Israeli tourists during the country's millennium celebrations.
The Palestinian-Jordanian, whose real name is Omar Othman, lost his appeal against deportation at the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (Siac) in February 2007. He lost his appeal against deportation at the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (Siac) in February 2007.
But he then appealed to higher courts on the grounds that evidence extracted through torture would be used against him in Jordan, where he faces a retrial for plotting bomb attacks.But he then appealed to higher courts on the grounds that evidence extracted through torture would be used against him in Jordan, where he faces a retrial for plotting bomb attacks.
That legal battle continued until May this year, when the cleric accepted that his right to a fair trial there was protected by the new treaty between Jordan and the UK.That legal battle continued until May this year, when the cleric accepted that his right to a fair trial there was protected by the new treaty between Jordan and the UK.
He agreed to drop his legal challenge, paving the way for his deportation.He agreed to drop his legal challenge, paving the way for his deportation.
Labour's shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper welcomed the deportation and backed Mrs May's call for a more streamlined process in future.
She said: "The home secretary has been right to get further guarantees from Jordan and we should welcome the series of agreements from the Jordanian government too.
"We must ensure that delays like this do not last for so long in future and that the system is reformed to make it faster."
Keith Vaz, chairman of Parliament's Home Affairs Select Committee, questioned why the government had not started work on a treaty with Jordan at an earlier stage in the process.Keith Vaz, chairman of Parliament's Home Affairs Select Committee, questioned why the government had not started work on a treaty with Jordan at an earlier stage in the process.
He said: "Only 446 days after the Home Secretary said Abu Qatada would be on a plane shortly, he has finally reached the end of the runway. "The home secretary's legal advisers will have questions to answer as to why they didn't conceive of this scheme earlier which would have prevented a cost to the taxpayer of £1.7m."
"In the end, it was the king of Jordan who secured his departure by agreeing to this treaty.
"The Home Secretary's legal advisers will have questions to answer as to why they didn't conceive of this scheme earlier which would have prevented a cost to the taxpayer of £1.7 m."
Profile: Abu QatadaProfile: Abu Qatada
The security problem Jordan doesn’t need?The security problem Jordan doesn’t need?
Abu Qatada case has cost UK £1.7mAbu Qatada case has cost UK £1.7m