Jordanian cleric facing expulsion from Britain

LONDON - A Muslim cleric who has been described as Osama bin Laden's "spiritual ambassador in Europe" faces deportation to Jordan under a crackdown on Islamic extremists in the wake of the London bombings.

Charles Clarke, the Home Secretary, announced yesterday that he is taking new powers to deport or exclude from Britain people who who incite others to commit terrorist acts by preaching, running websites or writing inflammatory articles.

Jordanian-born Abu Qatada, who fled to Britain claiming persecution, was held in Belmarsh Prison without charge after the September 11 attacks in the United States and is currently the subject of a control order.

Tapes of his sermons were found in a Hamburg flat used by some of the 9/11 hijackers and he is believed to have inspired the shoe bomber Richard Reid. He has been convicted of terrorism in his absence in Jordan and several European countries are believed to be trying to extradite him.

The Government will try to deport Qatada under an agreement struck with Jordan which guarantees that deportees would not be mistreated in the country to which they are sent.

The process could take years as he could still challenge his removal in the British courts, but yesterday's agreement reduces the prospects of the court's ruling that deportation could breach the European Convention on Human Rights.

A second Jordanian man previously held at Belmarsh, Abu Rideh, could also face deportation after the deal is formally signed shortly.

However, the agreement will not affect other high-profile Muslim extremists accused of inciting terrorism such as Sheikh Omar Bakri Mohammed, who has blamed the London bombings on the British people because they re-elected Tony Blair on May.

Dubbed "the Tottenham Ayatollah", he was granted exceptional leave to remain in Britain. But he has joint Syrian and Lebanese nationality and no similar agreement exists with these countries.

The memo of understanding with Jordan is the first of its kind struck by Britain but ministers hope to conclude similar agreements with countries such as Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia so that up to 20 known Muslim extremists could eventually be deported.

In practice, they are more likely to be prosecuted under a new law to be pushed through before Christmas, which will outlaw indirectly inciting others to carry out a terrorist act. This could be used against people who support suicide bombings in Israel as well as those who defend the London attacks but would not be retrospective.

In a Commons statement, Mr Clarke made clear he was likely to bar extremist clerics living abroad from entering Britain. He will amend the Immigration and Asylum Bill now going through parliament to strengthen his powers to exclude people from the UK whose presence would not be "conducive to the public interest."

He said: "I have concluded that these powers need to be applied more widely and systematically both to people before they come to the UK and when they are here. In the circumstances we now face, I have decided it is right to broaden the use of these powers to deal with those who foment terrorism or seek to provoke others to terrorist acts.

The Home Office will draw up a list of "unacceptable behaviour" such as preaching, running websites or writing articles intended to "foment or provoke terrorism" and compile an international database of extremists for immigration officers.

Such behaviour would not be permitted by anyone with leave to enter or remain in this country, including students, asylum seekers and refugees, said Mr Clarke. If people already in the UK engaged in such actions, he said it may be appropriate to deport them.

Tony Blair will today ask the intelligence and security services whether they still oppose the use of evidence from telephone tapping against suspected terrorists. He told MPs that he was in favour "in principle" but security chiefs had advised in the past that the disadvantages would outweigh the benefits.

The Prime Minister said he plans to host a conference to bring together all countries affected by Islamist extremism "to try and take concerted action, right across the world, to try and root out this type of extremist teaching."

Human rights groups expressed concern about the agreement with Jordan.

Kate Allen, Amnesty International's UK director, said: "Such promises from countries like Jordan, which are known to have used torture, are not worth the paper they are written on. These assurances rely on the good faith of states that are known to torture their subjects - a practice which few states admit to."

Shami Chakrabarti, director of Liberty, said: "It should take more than self-serving assurances to demonstrate that a country with Jordan's human rights record is safe. If this memorandum is to mean anything at all it must be corroborated by the observations of international human rights watchdogs."

- INDEPENDENT