Britain arrests cleric Abu Qatada, intends to deport him to Jordan

British border officials arrested radical Islamist cleric Abu Qatada on Tuesday, the interior ministry said, adding that it now intended to deport him to Jordan.

“UK Border Agency officers have today arrested Abu Qatada and told him that we intend to resume deportation proceedings against him,” a Home Office spokesman said.

Britain has been trying to extradite the 51-year-old Jordanian, once labeled a senior aide to al-Qaeda chief Osama Bin Laden by a Spanish judge, for six years, arguing that he is a threat to national security.

But its efforts have repeatedly been thwarted on human rights grounds.

In the latest case, the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg ruled in January that Britain cannot deport him because evidence used against him in any trial in Jordan may have been obtained through torture.

Abu Qatada was convicted in Jordan in absentia of involvement in terror attacks in 1998, and faces a retrial on his return.

The cleric was subsequently freed from British custody under strict bail conditions, after his lawyers said his detention was no longer lawful.

Home Secretary Theresa May flew to Jordan last month to try to secure assurances that torture evidence would not be used against him, in a bid to deal with the European court's concerns.

May was due to make a statement to parliament's lower House of Commons later Tuesday.

Amman has pledged that Abu Qatada would get a “fair and transparent” trial if Britain extradites him to Jordan.