Radical Islamic cleric Abu Qatada has been arrested after allegedly attempting to flee the country.
Qatada, described as Osama bin Laden's "right-hand man in Europe", is under strict bail conditions following an earlier Court of Appeal decision to refuse his deportation. After being freed from HMP Long Lartin in Worcestershire in June, he was ordered to spend at least 22 hours a day confined to his West London home, wearing an electronic tag.
However, according to The Sun newspaper, Qatada, 47, has been arrested after allegedly breaching his bail. The newspaper reported that the UK Borders Agency received a tip-off that he was planning to leave Britain.
A tip-off? Interesting. Maybe his frends aren't as friendly as he thinks? Or his place is wired up the ying-yang...
A spokeswoman for the Home Office confirmed reports that he had been arrested but would not comment further. She said: "We do not comment on individuals." Scotland Yard refused to comment and referred all inquiries to the Home Office.
Back in June, the Home Secretary, Jacqui Smith, said she was "extremely disappointed" at the court's decision to bail Qatada, while the Conservatives branded the decision "offensive". The Home Office had pledged to deport Qatada to Jordan to face terror charges.
Qatada has been accused of helping to inspire the September 11 attacks after videos of his sermons were found in the flat used by three of the hijackers, including their leader Mohammed Atta. He is wanted in his native Jordan for allegedly plotting a series of bomb attacks in Amman in 1998 and for providing finance and advice to terrorists planning a series of explosions there on Millennium night.
Here's an idea. Send him to Jordan. I'm sure they'd love to see him. He gets to leave, you get rid of him, maybe the Jordanians put him up against a wall. Win-win-win.