PM defends Home Office on Qatada deportation delay

By Oliver Hotham

David Cameron has denied that the home secretary made any error in the failure to deport radical cleric Abu Qatada.

In a candid interview with the Today programme, the prime minister defended the actions of Theresa May and the misunderstanding over the dates of the timeframe within which he could appeal.

When asked whether he thought a mistake had been made, Mr Cameron said: "Absolutely not."

He continued: "They wanted, quite rightly, to move as rapidly as possible to remove Abu Qatada from the country."

"They acted, in my view, entirely correctly."

Abu Qatada had been awaiting deportation to Jordan to stand trial for plotting bomb attacks, but the European court of human rights blocked the move on the grounds that evidence used against him might be obtained under torture.

But last week the British government announced they had received the necessary assurances from the Jordanian government.

The home secretary triumphantly announced the imminent deportation of the extremist cleric last Tuesday, only for Qatada to appeal his deportation once again to the European court of human rights.

Ms May came under heavy criticism, including from backbench Tory MPs, who called on the British government to disregard the European court and deport Qatada.

Qatada's appeal in now underway and must be seen by the European court before any moves to deport him can begin. 

Political news to your inbox

Fill in your details to receive Politics.co.uk's brand of informed, in-depth and independent coverage of Westminster to your inbox

Hot topics

Britain's great energy debate

How the power gets to Britain's homes in the next century remains a matter of deep controversy

As the next general election begins to loom over the horizon, the debate over Britain's future energy mix is starting to hot up - and nothing seems guaranteed.

The Heathrow third runway debate

Heathrow's third runway is just one of many options

There won't be a final decision on Britain's long-term aviation strategy until after the 2015 general election - but an aggressive national debate is already underway.

Opinion Former Events

BSIA: Information Destruction Exhibition & Conference 2013

Following the great success of the BSIA's Information Destruction Conference and Exhibition in May 2012, we are pleased to annouce that the event is returning again in June 2013. This one-day conference and exhibition is aimed at key decision makers in organisations that carry out the secure destruction of confidential material.