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Abu Qatada deported from UK to stand trial in Jordan Abu Qatada deported from UK to stand trial in Jordan
(33 minutes later)
Radical cleric Abu Qatada has been deported from the UK to Jordan to stand trial on terrorism charges.Radical cleric Abu Qatada has been deported from the UK to Jordan to stand trial on terrorism charges.
His plane left RAF Northolt at 02:45 BST to take him to his home country, which he has not visited in 20 years.His plane left RAF Northolt at 02:45 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... and I believe this will be welcomed by the British public."Home Secretary Theresa May said it "marks the conclusion of efforts to remove him... and I believe this will be welcomed by the British public."
The legal battle to deport Abu Qatada has lasted almost 10 years and has cost the UK more than £1.7m ($2.5m). She added: "This dangerous man has now been removed from our shores to face the courts in his own country."
His deportation was approved after the UK and Jordan signed a treaty agreeing that evidence obtained through torture would not be used against him. The legal battle to deport Abu Qatada began in 2001 and has cost the UK more than £1.7m ($2.5m).
The BBC understands that he is being accompanied on the flight by six people from Jordan, comprising three security officials, a psychologist, a medical examiner and his Jordanian lawyer. 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.
Mrs May added: "I am glad that this government's determination to see him on a plane has been vindicated and that we have at last achieved what previous governments, Parliament and the British public have long called for.
"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."
The BBC understands that Abu Qatada is being accompanied on the flight by six people from Jordan, comprising three security officials, a psychologist, a medical examiner and his Jordanian lawyer.
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.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.
BBC home affairs correspondent Dominic Casciani at RAF Northolt said Abu Qatada would be taken straight to court in Amman on his arrival in Jordan.
The charges he faces will be outlined and he will then be taken to prison to await the start of the trial, our correspondent added.
Eleventh hourEleventh hour
The Palestinian-Jordanian, whose real name is Omar Othman, lost his appeal against deportation at the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (Siac) in February 2007.The Palestinian-Jordanian, whose real name is Omar Othman, 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.
The final administrative procedures needed to ratify the treaty - which included an exchange of diplomatic letters between the UK and Jordan and the publication of the treaty in the Jordanian government's Official Gazette - have now been completed.
Abu Qatada has been held at Belmarsh after breaching a bail condition in March which restricted his use of mobile phones and other communication devices.