The British government has reached an agreement with Jordan that will allow Britain to deport Jordanian terrorism suspects, a move that could lead to the explusion of so-called hate preachers, most immediately the Jordanian-Palestinian cleric Abu Qatada. The preacher is currently under a control-order in Britain and has been convicted in absentia in Jordan. Several European countries are believed to be trying to extradite him.Britain's cabinet office said it had reached a "memorandum of understanding" with the Jordanian authorities that will remove a ban on the government deporting people to countries where they could face torture and mistreatment or the death penalty. The deal is part of the government's security crackdown following the deadly 7 July bombings of London's transport system, and it is seeking similar deals with various other countries, many of which are in North Africa.
Besides Qatada, there are other Jordanian nationals who may be subject to deportation as a result of the deal, a cabinet office spokesman said, without giving any further details. Deportation of any individuals under the accord will have to be approved by British courts.
The government said it will also step up efforts to expel individuals form Britain if their presence is deemed not conducive to the public good. This would include sermons preached by Qatada and the Syrian cleric Omar Bakri Mohammed, amongst others.
Qatada has been described by a UK judge as "a truly dangerous individual, heavily involved in al-Qaeda". British authorities say 18 videotapes of Qatada's sermons were uncovered in an appartment in the north German city of Hamburg, used by some of the 11 September hijackers. Qatada fled to the UK claiming persecution and was held in Belmarsh Prison without charge, as part of the government's 2001 Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Act. In March, Britain's Prevention of Terrorism Act replaced the indefinite prison detention of terror suspects with control orders.