Qatada Fight Could Last 'Many Months' - May

May Survives A Commons Grilling

Updated: 3:42pm UK, Wednesday 24 April 2013

By Jon Craig, Chief Political Correspondent

Theresa May is not known for her rib-tickling sense of humour, and the battle to deport hate preacher Abu Qatada has been no laughing matter for the Home Secretary.

In recent months, those MPs talking up her Tory leadership prospects have spoken of her ice maiden qualities and compared her to Germany's "iron Chancellor" Angela Merkel.

But during what was always going to be an awkward appearance in the Commons explaining the latest setback in her attempts to deport Qatada, she mercilessly lampooned one of her Tory critics.

Slapping down a rather pompous intervention from Eurosceptic backbencher Mark Reckless, she told him: "Urging the Government to break the law is, if I may say so, a reckless step!"

The tall, balding Reckless - who bears a passing resemblance to the late Carry On film actor Bernard Bresslaw - was not at all amused and later complained to Speaker John Bercow about "personal abuse".

In the 45-minute grilling by MPs, the typically unflappable Mrs May was forced time and again to tell Conservative MPs she was not going to break the law to put Qatada on a plane to Jordan.

Behind the tall figure of Reckless sat the feisty, fizzing figure of Nadine Dorries, still suspended over her "I'm a Celebrity" jungle jaunt.

"Just do it", she kept shouting at the Home Secretary from what the Speaker calls "a sedentary position".

When she was called to speak, Nadine demanded to know "what is the worst possible thing that could happen to us if we did just put Abu Qatada on a plane.

"If it is a fine or displeasing of the court of the ECHR, would it not be better for us to withdraw temporarily so we could do that, put him on a plane, and then re-join again?," she asked.

Mrs May replied rather wearily that Nadine had raised this many times and said: "The answer I give is the same as I have given in the past - I believe the UK Government should abide by the rule of law."

She was forced to repeat that many times, adding later that the Government could end up having to bring Qatada back to the UK and compensate him for acting illegally.

But considering that many of her critics believe she and her Home Office officials have bungled the legal process, the Home Secretary survived her Commons interrogation relatively unscathed and lives to fight another day … and another Tory leadership election.

How she must regret, however, telling MPs a year ago: "I believe that the assurances and the information that we have gathered will mean that we can soon put Qatada on a plane and get him out of our country for good."

Whoops!

But clearly anticipating criticism of her handling of the case, Mrs May came to the Commons armed with a weighty announcement about a new treaty with Jordan, which seemed rather to disarm her critics.

She was fairly restrained, too, in response to Tory calls to rip up Labour's human rights laws and withdraw from the European Convention on Human Rights.

"We should have all options, including leaving the convention altogether on the table," she said. "The Prime Minister is looking at all options and that is the only sensible thing to do."

In other words, this will be in the Tory manifesto at the next election, but is a non-runner while the Conservatives are in coalition with those pesky Liberal Democrats.

The Prime Minister is said to have declared the current impasse over Qatada makes his "blood boil".

I doubt if the ice-cool Theresa's blood has ever boiled. The Government must operate within the law or change the law, she kept repeating, calmly.

She was cool, too, to the suggestion by Labour veteran David Winnick, a member of the Home Affairs Select Committee, to put Qatada on trial in the UK.

Prosecutions were not a matter for the Home Secretary, she said icily.

But while she would not admit it to MPs, Theresa May is running out of options now.

As Labour's Yvette Cooper put it, she's almost "back to square one".

And the chairman of the Home Affairs Select Committee, Keith Vaz, said the legal battle had become "a farce".

Both of these are true.

After her rather premature "on a plane" boast a year ago, Theresa May is making no such claims now, warning MPs the process could still be a long, slow one because Qatada will appeal against every move.

She might also, considering her own Tory leadership ambitions, think twice before offending her more "reckless" backbenchers until the radical cleric really is on his way home.

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