Latest ruling on Qatada will be appealed

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LONDON, Dec. 3 (UPI) -- Britain's Home Secretary Theresa May said she will appeal a decision to block the deportation of suspected terrorist Abu Qatada to Jordan.

The legal challenge comes after immigration judges in Britain ruled Qatada, a Muslim cleric, could not be deported to face a retrial over terror charges in Jordan, the British newspaper The Daily Telegraph reported Monday.

The newspaper referred to him as "Osama bin Laden's right-hand man in Europe," with "high-level support among extremists."

Judges of the Special Immigration Appeals Commission permitted Qatada to remain in Britain after ruling last month evidence against him, said to have been obtained by torture of two co-defendants, could be used against him in a trial in Jordan.

May has submitted her grounds for appeal with the Court of Appeal, which will be examined by a judge.

She told the House of Commons "Qatada is a dangerous man, a suspected terrorist, who is accused of serious crime in his home country of Jordan."

Qatada has battled deportation for over a decade and has thwarted every attempt by the British government to deport him, the newspaper noted.