Abu Qatada To Finally Be Deported To Jordan

Timeline: Qatada Legal Battle

Updated: 6:39am UK, Saturday 06 July 2013

Abu Qatada has challenged and ultimately thwarted every attempt by the Government to detain and deport him for many years.

Here is a timeline of the legal battle.

1993: Abu Qatada claims asylum when he arrives in Britain on a forged passport.

1994: Allowed to stay in Britain.

1995: Issues a "fatwa" justifying the killing of converts from Islam, their wives and children in Algeria.

1998: Applies for indefinite leave to remain in Britain.

1999: April - Convicted in his absence on terror charges in Jordan and sentenced to life imprisonment.

October - Speaks in London advocating the killing of Jews and praising attacks on Americans.

2001: February - Arrested by anti-terror police over involvement in a plot to bomb Strasbourg Christmas market. Officers find him with £170,000 in cash, including £805 in an envelope marked "For the mujahedin in Chechnya".

December - Becomes one of Britain's most wanted men after going on the run from his home in west London.

2002: Arrested by police in a council house in south London and detained in Belmarsh high-security jail.

2005: Freed on conditional bail and placed on a control order but arrested again in August under immigration rules as the Government seeks to deport him to Jordan.

2008: April: Court of Appeal rules deportation would breach his human rights because evidence used against him in Jordan might have been obtained through torture.

May - Granted bail by the immigration tribunal but told he must stay inside for 22 hours a day.

June - Released from Long Lartin jail in Worcestershire and moves into a four-bedroom house in west London.

November - He is rearrested after the Home Office tells an immigration hearing of fears he plans to abscond.

December - Qatada's bail is revoked by the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (Siac) after hearing secret evidence that the risk of him absconding has increased.

2009: Five Law Lords unanimously back the Government's policy of removing terror suspects from Britain on the basis of assurances from foreign governments and it is ruled he can be deported to Jordan to face a retrial on the terror charges.

He is awarded 2,800 euro (£2,500) compensation by the European Court of Human Rights after the judges rule that his detention without trial in the UK under anti-terrorism powers breached his human rights.

2012: January - European judges rule he can be sent to Jordan with diplomatic assurances but not while "there remains a real risk that evidence obtained by torture will be used against him".

February - He is released on strict bail conditions.

April - Rearrested as the Government prepares to deport him after Jordan gives assurances it will "bend over backwards" to ensure he receives a fair trial.

March - Qatada's legal team loses its bid to have the case heard by the Europe's human rights judges, clearing the way for deportation proceedings to continue.

May and August - Siac rejects Qatada's applications for bail.

October - Siac holds appeal hearing.

November - His appeal is granted and he is granted bail.

December - Qatada is moved to a larger residence in the greater London area.

2013:

March 9 - It emerges Qatada has been arrested for allegedly breaching his bail conditions. He is ordered to stay in custody and sent to Belmarsh.

March 21 - Police reveal the cleric is being investigated over extremist material.

March 27 - Home Secretary Theresa May loses her appeal over Siac's decision to allow Qatada to stay in the UK. The Home Office vows to appeal.

April 17 - The Home Office formally announces that it is seeking leave from the Court of Appeal to take the case to the Supreme Court.

April 22 - The Court of Appeal refuses permission to go to the Supreme Court, forcing the Home Office to appeal directly to the highest court in the land.

April 23 - Theresa May tells MPs she has signed a new treaty with Jordan that should pave the way to deportation, but warns it might take "many months".

May 10 - Qatada's barrister says he will go back to Jordan voluntarily if the treaty on the use of evidence obtained by torture, guaranteeing he will not be tortured, is ratified by the Jordanian parliament.

May 20 - Qatada is refused bail by the Special Immigrations Appeals Commission after "jihadist material" is found on a computer memory stick.

July 2 - The new treaty between Jordan and Britain is fully ratified, sparking claims Qatada could be on a plane within days.

July 3 - A Jordanian government official tells AFP the cleric is due back on Sunday.

July 7 - Due to be flown from RAF Northholt to Jordan

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Father In Court Over Daughter's Murder

The father of an 11-year-old girl found strangled at her home has appeared in court charged with her murder.

Rebecca Thompson was discovered at the house in Holmefield Road, Bushey, Hertfordshire, on Saturday, June 22.

Her father Simon Thompson, 52, was taken to hospital after being involved in a car crash in the early hours of the same day.

He has now appeared at Hatfield Magistrates' Court, where he was remanded in custody.

Rebecca's headteacher paid tribute to the schoolgirl.

In a statement, Rita Cooper, head of Sacred Heart Primary School, said: "It is with great sadness that we heard of the death of Rebecca who was in Year Six at Sacred Heart.

"Rebecca was a lovely girl who was hard-working and did well in her learning. She was looking forward to secondary school.

"The whole school is very distressed by this tragedy and our thoughts are with her family and friends."

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Met Approved Stephen Lawrence Friend Bugging

The man who was in charge of the inquiry into the murder of Stephen Lawrence authorised a secret recording of a meeting between the teenager's close friend, his lawyers and police detectives, it has been revealed.

Scotland Yard said Former Deputy Assistant Commissioner John Grieve, who headed up the Met's racial and violent crimes task force, gave permission for at least one meeting between Duwayne Brooks and investigating officers to be recorded - without Mr Brooks' knowledge or permission.

John Grieve says the bugging was necessary to catch Stephen's killers

Eighteen-year-old Stephen was waiting for a bus with Mr Brooks when he was murdered by racists in Eltham, south-east London, in 1993.

Deputy Assistant Commissioner Fiona Taylor, who is in charge of the Directorate of Professional Standards, has written to Mr Brooks' solicitor Jane Deighton saying documentation authorising the recording of the meeting in May 2000 has been discovered.

The actual recording has not yet been found and is still being searched for.

Ms Taylor was asked to urgently assess what happened after it emerged at the end of June that the police had allegedly launched some sort of smear campaign against Stephen's parents, Doreen and Neville.

Following those shock revelations it was claimed that the police had made secret recordings of interviews between Mr Brooks, his lawyer and detectives.

Scotland Yard launched an investigation into those allegations last week. Nothing illegal has been uncovered so far.

Mr Grieve, who is now retired, has defended authorising the covert recording of the interviews at the offices of Ms Deighton, insisting it was done in order to protect the integrity of the evidence and make sure he was doing everything he could to find Stephen's killers.

Stephen Lawrence was murdered in a racist attack

Acting within the parameters of the law, he claims that if he had offered Mr Brooks and his legal team the option of recording the interview and keeping it, there would have been objections and the interview would have been quite different. His request to conduct the secret recording was approved by Scotland Yard.

But Mr Grieve has apologised for any "discomfort or dismay" the actions might have caused Mr Brooks and the Lawrence family.

In a statement, Ms Deighton said Mr Brooks was "going to take some time to absorb the enormity of the admission that the former DAC Grieve deliberately deceived him in the guise of providing him with victim support".

Former undercover officer Peter Francis, who worked with Scotland Yard's former Special Demonstration Squad, last month alleged that he had been told to find information to use to smear the Lawrence family, and spoke out about tactics that he said were used by the secretive unit in the 1980s and 1990s.

In the wake of his claims, Mr and Mrs Lawrence called for a public inquiry into the allegations, which the teenager's mother said made her feel "sick to the stomach".

Shadow minister for policing David Hanson said Mr Grieve's admission over the secret recordings "mean an independent inquiry is all the more needed".  

"These differing accounts of secret recordings and the activities of some police officers surrounding the Lawrence case and Macpherson inquiry (the 1998 public inquiry into Stephen's death) make it more vital we get full disclosure," he said.

Prime Minister David Cameron has said he remains open to further probes into the allegations but has so far resisted calls for another full public inquiry.

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Ceremony To Remember Piper Alpha Disaster

The 25th anniversary of the Piper Alpha disaster, which claimed the lives of 167 people, has been remembered at a ceremony in Scotland.

The North Sea platform was engulfed in a ball of flames after a gas leak ignited on July 6, 1988.

Hundreds of people have attended a commemoration service in Aberdeen in memory of those who died.

They were joined by politicians, senior figures from the UK oil and gas industry and representatives from the Pound for Piper Trust.

The service, at the North Sea Memorial in Aberdeen's Hazlehead Park, began with the fly-past of a Sea King search and rescue helicopter from RAF Lossiemouth.

The Piper Alpha oil platform on fire in the North Sea in 1988

It was the first aircraft to arrive at the scene of the disaster.

A roll call of those who perished in the disaster was also read out by the Reverend Gordon Craig, chaplain to the UK oil and gas industry, and representatives of the offshore workforce.

A lament played by a lone piper marked the start of a minute's silence for people to pay their respects to the men who lost their lives and all those who have been affected by the tragedy.

Floral tributes were also laid at the garden's central memorial statue, industry officials confirmed.

Speaking ahead of the service, Shadow Scottish Secretary Margaret Curran said: "Today we remember those who lost their lives on Piper Alpha 25 years ago and we stand with their loved ones who still live with the events of that night.

"What happened on Piper Alpha on 6th July 1988 left an indelible mark on Aberdeen, but this is an important day of remembrance and reflection for all of Scotland and for many communities in other parts of the UK, where families still mourn fathers, sons and brothers who went to work in the North Sea and did not return.

"One hundred and sixty seven people lost their lives as a result of the explosions on board the platform. It is one of the worst accidents of its kind in recent memory."

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Weather: Britain Sizzles As Temperatures Soar

Britain is basking in some of the hottest temperatures of the year so far this weekend as summer finally arrives across the country.

Sun worshippers were set to enjoy highs of up to 28C (82F) to 29C (84F) on Saturday in London, with temperatures soaring to 30C (86F) in parts of southern England on Sunday, while most of the UK will feel the heat in the mid to high 20s.

Crowds gathering in Hyde Park to watch The Rolling Stones later can expect to swelter in the sunshine, and Britain's Andy Murray will feel the glare of more than just the eyes of the Wimbledon faithful tomorrow.

The weather is much hotter than usual for the time of year - the average maximum temperature for July in England is 20.9C (69.5F).

Many parts of the country can expect to enjoy temperatures on par with popular Spanish holiday resorts.

Sunb lovers flock to Fistral Beach in Newquay

On Saturday the soaring temperatures sparked a run on the staples of a British summer, with retailers reporting a spike in sales of disposable barbecues, fresh meat and strawberries.

Waitrose said its burger sales are up nearly 90% this week, with sales of sausages and their vegetarian equivalents also surging. 

"The 'Pimmsometer', our internal barometer of good weather, is starting to move up a gear with sales up by 90%," a supermarket spokesman added.

Tesco meanwhile expects to sell 1.5 million cucumbers, 250,000 disposable barbecues and a million tubs of ice cream over the weekend.

And the heat wave gripping Britain this July shows no signs of letting up, according to Sky News Weather Presenter Nazaneen Ghaffar, with the good weather expected to last throughout next week and beyond.

The Serpentine Lake in Hyde Park, central London

It means the UK is on course to enjoy its longest spell of hot weather since 2006, when temperatures were above 28C in many areas for around a fortnight.

She said: "Finally it seems the summer weather has arrived and is set to stick around for a while.

"This weekend the mercury could rise up to 30C (86F) in the south-east of England, elsewhere will be very warm as well with temperatures into the mid to high 20s.

"This time of the year the average maximum temperature in England is 20.9C so most areas will be above that.

"However, not everywhere will bask in the sunshine. Most of Scotland and Ireland will have cloudier skies with rain across the far north-west on Saturday, slowly spreading south and eastwards bringing a few showers to northern England by Sunday.

The sun rises over a ship off the coast near Tynemouth, in the North East

"Although the north-west of the UK and Ireland will be mostly cloudy, there will be some sunny spells at times and in the sunshine it will still feel quite warm."

"Coastal areas will be another exception to the sunshine and warmth. Throughout the weekend and into next week it will feel cooler around the coasts with onshore breezes. Mist or low cloud may plague some coasts too.

"Although most people will enjoy this sunny period, for some it will be too hot, especially across the south this weekend. UV levels will be very high on Sunday and Monday as will pollen levels for the next few days."

More recently, temperatures peaked at 30.7C (87F) between July 23 and 26, last year.

The previous highest temperature of 2013 so far has been 27C (80F) on June 30, but recent years have seen Britons endure wet and overcast summers.

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Fugitive Murder Suspect 'Using Canal Paths'

Detectives hunting a man suspected of murdering his ex-girlfriend believe he may be using canal pathways to avoid arrest.

Michael Cope, 28, is wanted by police over the "sustained and vicious" killing of mother-of-two Linzi Ashton, 25, whose body was found at her home in Winton, Salford, on Saturday.

Police say Cope has "good knowledge" of the pathways around the Bridgewater Canal between Winton and Leigh after he was last spotted at The Moorings in Worsley at about 9am on Saturday.

More than 30 addresses in the area have been searched as part of the investigation with three arrests made so far.

Chief Superintendent Kevin Mulligan said: "It is vital we find and speak to Michael Cope to assist our investigation into the brutal murder of Linzi Ashton.

"Understandably, her family are absolutely shattered by what has happened to her, and we are committed to giving them the answers that they need.

"We have made it abundantly clear that Cope needs to be found and we suspect that he may well become more and more desperate as the manhunt continues.

"He therefore could be sleeping rough. We urge people to call the police if they notice any suspicious behaviour around their outbuildings, sheds or gardens."

On Tuesday, police released CCTV footage of Cope buying snacks hours before the young mother was murdered.

A Home Office post-mortem concluded she died as a result of pressure to the neck and multiple injuries.

Cope was in a brief "acrimonious" relationship with Miss Ashton, who worked at the Duke of York pub in nearby Eccles.

Police had been seeking to arrest Cope since the end of April when Miss Ashton made a complaint of rape against him.

Her body was discovered by a relative at her home in Westbourne Road shortly before 6pm on Saturday. Her two daughters, Daisy, two, and Destiny, seven, were not at the address at the time.

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Nightingale: Police Interview Played In Court

By David Bowden, Defence Correspondent

Former SAS sniper Danny Nightingale has admitted to police that he had an illegal pistol and ammunition at the house he shared with another Special Forces soldier.

The admission came in a police interview played to the court martial trying Nightingale for illegal possession of the gun and ammunition.

Nightingale denies the charges.

The court in Bulford, Wiltshire, has already heard that the defence will claim the pistol and bullets belonged to Nightingale's house mate and not to him.

In the interview with West Mercia Police in September 2011, Nightingale was asked to explain the presence of the pistol and ammunition in his bedroom.

Nightingale told police that he had received the Glock pistol in Baghdad towards the end of his tour in Iraq in November 2007.

The ammunition allegedly stored under Danny Nightingale's bed

"It was given to me by the guys I was training out there, indigenous forces. They knew I liked the weapon ... A keepsake," he said.

In the video played to the court, he says he brought it back intending to get it decommissioned and handed over to his unit as a trophy - but he never got around to it.

"I understand I should have got it decommissioned there and then ... Hindsight's a wonderful thing."

"I apologise profusely for that," he added, describing himself as "naive".

He said the ammunition was in the house because he had just moved out of the sergeants' mess on the base nearby. He said he should have handed it in but had not because he was busy preparing to be deployed to Afghanistan.

He says the ammunition was left over after training sessions on the SAS firing range, and told the police he left it in boxes intending to deal with it when he came back from his operational tour.

Nightingale told the interviewers there was "no malice, no intent to being used, just my poor admin. I don't deny that, it's just a regret I have".

The interview then covers the layout of the shared house and the details of the more than 300 rounds of ammunition found there.

Nightingale is seen in the video to be looking at a picture of the Glock pistol which he says was kept in the top drawer of his wardrobe.

The Glock gun found at his house

He is asked if he ever fired it and replies: "I have stripped it, I've assembled it, but I haven't fired it."

Nightingale repeats his assertion that he intended to deal with the pistol and ammunition once he returned from his tour telling police: "It's been a busy tempo for the last few years."

The trial continues.

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Azelle Rodney 'Unlawfully Killed' By Police

An inquiry into the death of a man shot dead by police eight years ago has concluded that he was unlawfully killed.

Azelle Rodney, who was 24, died after the car he was in was stopped by armed officers in London.

An official report found the police marksman who shot Mr Rodney had no reason to believe he had picked up a weapon - so there was "no lawful justification" for killing him.

The officer who fired the fatal shots could now face criminal charges after the case was referred to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).

Mr Rodney's mother Susan Alexander said the report backed her view that her son was "executed" and demanded an apology from Scotland Yard.

Former High Court judge Sir Christopher Holland released his findings following the public inquiry into the shooting in Edgware, north London in 2005.

The VW Golf in which the victim was travelling with two other men was stopped by officers who feared the trio were on their way to stage an armed heist on Colombian drug dealers and had an automatic weapon capable of firing 1,000 rounds per minute.

Mr Rodney's family and legal team spoke out after the report was published

Mr Rodney was shot six times, once each in the arm and back and four times in the head.

Sir Christopher's critical conclusions raise the possibility of the officer, known only as E7, facing criminal charges for the shooting.

He found that even if the armed officer believed Mr Rodney had picked up a weapon, it was disproportionate to fire the four fatal head shots.

E7 told the inquiry that he had seen Mr Rodney start moving around, reaching down and then coming back up with his shoulders hunched.

But Sir Christopher's report dismissed this account, which was also contradicted by eyewitnesses.

It said: "E7's accounts of what he saw are not to be accepted. Prior to firing he did not believe that the man who turned out to be Azelle Rodney had picked up a gun and was about to use it.

"Further, on the basis of what he was able to see, he could not rationally have believed that."

The officer has written to the inquiry to claim that the findings against him are " irrational".

Three guns were found in the Golf - a Colt .45 calibre pistol, a Baikal pistol and a smaller gun that looked like a key fob.

The Colt was not loaded, the Baikal was loaded but was not cocked and the safety catch was on, and the key fob gun was loaded, cocked and the safety catch was off.

During the 11-week public inquiry it emerged that E7 had previously shot two men dead during an incident in the 1980s, and injured another two.

Inquests into the men's deaths later found that they had been lawfully killed, and the officer received a commendation from the-then Metropolitan Police Commissioner for his conduct.

Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe said the Met "deeply regrets" the killing

The two injured men were later tried and jailed.

Sir Christopher found that Operation Tayport, which led to Mr Rodney's death, was not run in a way that would minimise the threat to life.

He also concluded that the "hard stop" on the Golf "fell short of the standards set by the MPS".

Drivers were not supposed to deliberately ram the suspect car but two of the police cars did.

The firearms officers were also supposed to be wearing police caps, but the two that could be seen in a video of the shooting were not.

Two officers also fired rounds into the tyres of the Golf after it had been rammed and hemmed in by unmarked police cars.

Sir Christopher has recommended that Scotland Yard now nominates a senior officer to carry out a review of the operation.

Speaking after the report was published, Mr Rodney's mother Susan Alexander said: "I do not seek to justify what Azelle was doing on the day he died, but he was entitled to be apprehended and, if there was evidence, to be charged and brought before a court of law to face trial before a jury.

"The fact that he was strongly suspected in being involved in crime does not justify him or anyone else being summarily killed."

She said she did not want any further delays in investigating what happened to her son, and asked for apologies from the police and watchdog the Independent Police Complaints Commission.

Met Commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe said: "I have read the findings carefully and want to express my personal sympathy to Mr Rodney's family.

"The MPS deeply regrets his death, and I recognise how distressing the inquiry must have been for them."

He said the force accepts recommendations made by Sir Christopher about how officers are debriefed after firearms operations.

The CPS said in a statement: "Following the publication of the report into Mr Rodney's death, the IPCC has written to the Director of Public Prosecutions to ask that we review the case in light of new evidence provided to the Public Inquiry.

"This review will be completed as soon as practicable, in close liaison with the IPCC and in accordance with the Attorney General's undertaking to the inquiry."

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London Riots Looter Wins Deportation Fight

A foreigner who was jailed for looting a shop during the London riots will be allowed to stay in the UK, after a judge ruled deporting him would breach his human rights.

Derrick Kinsasi's lawyers successfully argued that removing him from the country would breach his "right to family life", even though he is not married and has no children.

The 21-year-old, from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), was convicted in October 2011 of burglary and theft after stealing electrical goods from a branch of Comet.

The Home Secretary decided that although he had some family ties in the UK, they did not constitute family life for the purposes of the Human Rights Act.

Kinsasi appealed to the lower immigration tribunal, which upheld Theresa May's decision to deport him. Judges said he was "minimising his abilities to speak Lingala", the language spoken in his home country.

He then launched another legal challenge in the upper immigration tribunal, telling the court: "I don't have anyone (in the DRC); there is no family to go back to. I have a good life here and it's a year until I go to university. I have my mum, three brothers and a little sister.

"Prison isn't the place for me ... I'm trying to keep my head down through education and get help to sort out my bad habit, so that when I get back out there, I know what to do to keep out of trouble."

Judge Nathan Goldstein overturned the previous ruling and allowed Kinsasi's appeal.

"I find that removing him to the DRC has echoes of exile rather than exclusion and it is unlikely to be proportionate," he said.

"The consequence of his removal to the DRC would amount to a splitting of the family unit."

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Dismembered Woman's Identity Known By Police

By James Matthews, Scotland Correspondent

Police have established the identity of a woman whose dismembered body was found buried in a shallow grave.

Her remains were found a month ago on Corstorphine Hill, which overlooks Edinburgh.

Detectives had made repeated appeals for help and issued a facial reconstruction image of the victim.

They now know who she is, but her name will not be released until next of kin have been informed.

Detective Chief Inspector Keith Hardie told Sky News: "Identifying the victim was the first priority of this murder investigation and I would like to thank the public and the media for their help in achieving that aim.

"While this is positive news, it also means that a loved one has been lost.

"We are progressing our inquiries into the circumstances of this woman's death and to finding those responsible for it."

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