Qatada could walk free this month

Jordanian terrorism suspect Abu Qatada could be freed on bail by the end of the month.

Qatada, described by a judge as Osama bin Laden’s right-hand man in Europe, will have his application for bail heard by a senior immigration judge on 28 May, the Judicial Communications Office said.

The radical cleric, 51, is being held in a high-security prison while he fights deportation to Jordan on terrorism charges.

A Home Office spokeswoman said: “We will continue vigorously to resist any application for Qatada to be bailed.”

Qatada’s ten-year battle is in the hands of the British courts after he lost his attempt to make a final appeal to Europe’s human rights judges.

His lawyers immediately applied for him to be released on bail. The political situation in Jordan has also worsened in recent months, they claim.