THE UK Government’s battle to boot hate preacher Abu Qatada out of the country is to rage on after appeal judges rejected the latest in a long line of attempts to remove him.
Infuriating politicians and campaigners, in reaching its conclusion the Court of Appeal said it was not “relevant” that terror suspect Qatada was regarded as “extremely dangerous”.
The Home Office immediately hit back as it vowed to seek leave to appeal and said it was determined to remove Qatada, who is in Belmarsh prison.
“This is not the end of the road,” a department spokesman said.
The Labour Party labelled the ruling “extremely disappointing”, while London mayor Boris Johnson said it was “utter madness that we can’t get shot of this man”.
The Government has now been trying to deport the radical cleric to Jordan, where he was convicted of terror charges in his absence in 1999, for nearly eight years.
Immigration judges decided last year that Qatada, also known as Omar Othman, could not be deported over fears evidence obtained through torture would be used against him.
Home Secretary Theresa May’s lawyers challenged the ruling on the grounds that Qatada was a “truly dangerous” individual who had escaped deportation through “errors of law”.