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Home Secretary statement on Abu Qatada

Statement by Home Secretary Theresa May following the deportation of Abu Qatada on Sunday (7 July).

This was published under the 2010 to 2015 Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition government

The Home Secretary said:

Abu Qatada was deported today to his home country of Jordan to face terrorism charges.

His departure marks the conclusion of efforts to remove him since 2001 and I believe this will be welcomed by the British public.

I am glad that this government’s determination to see him on a plane has been vindicated and that we have at last achieved what previous governments, Parliament and the British public have long called for. This dangerous man has now been removed from our shores to face the courts in his own country.

I am also clear that we need to make sense of our human rights laws and remove the many layers of appeals available to foreign nationals we want to deport. We are taking steps – including through the new Immigration Bill – to put this right.

Published 7 July 2013