RADICAL cleric Abu Qatada has been cleared by a court in Jordan of terror charges – but Nick Clegg has vowed that the Government will fight any attempt by him to return to Britain.
Nick Clegg said that the Government will fight any attempt by Abu Qatada to return to Britain [REUTERS/GETTY]But the military's State Security Court in Amman today found the 53-year-old innocent for lack of evidence against him.
Separately, the court postponed its ruling on a second set of terrorism charges against the cleric, involving plots in 2000 to attack Israelis, Americans and other Westerners in Jordan.
It said it would deliver its verdict in that case in September.
Qatada, whose real name is Omar Mahmoud Mohammed Othman, was deported from Britain last year to face the charges and pleaded not guilty to all of them.
But the Deputy Prime Minister insisted this morning that the Government had been right to battle for his deportation and declared: "We don't want this man back".
It took almost a decade for the preacher to be deported from the UK, with the drawn-out affair costing nearly £2million.
He was finally ejected from the country in July last year.
Qatada's relatives react to his acquittal [AP]We don't want this man back
Mr Clegg told LBC: "What is absolutely clear to me is this man needed to face justice and needed to do so out of the United Kingdom and that's what this government finally achieved."
Asked if Britain would do everything possible to stop Qatada's return, Mr Clegg replied: "Of course. We don't want this man back."
Qatada, who was once dubbed Osama bin Laden's right-hand man in Europe, repeatedly used human rights laws to avoid deportation.
The father-of-five was finally flown out to Jordan, where he had convicted of terror charges in absentia in 1999, after the state gave formal assurances about how he would be treated.
The 1999 sentence was suspended under Jordanian law and he was ordered to stand a new trial.
He is still facing separate charges involving plots to attack Israelis, Americans and other Westerners in Jordan in 2000.
The military court postponed its ruling on these charges and said it would deliver its verdict in that case in September.
Qatada will remain in custody in Jordan until then.
The cleric is still awaiting another verdict in September [EPA]His lawyer, Ghazi Thneibat, told reporters after the ruling that "justice has been served."
He declined to comment on the postponement of the verdict in the second case against his client.
Um Ahmed, Qatada's sister, said: "We are happy".
Immigration and Security Minister James Brokenshire said: "Abu Qatada's re-trial in Jordan has been made possible thanks to this government's determination to successfully deport him from the UK.
"While the courts in Jordan have acquitted Qatada of one of the two charges against him, it is right the due process of law is allowed to take place in his own country. We await a verdict on the remaining charge.
"The UK courts agreed that Qatada posed a threat to national security in the UK, so we are pleased that we were able to remove him.
"He is subject to a deportation order which means he will be unable to return to the UK."
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