Charles Clarke plans to move against scores of militants accused of stirring up hatred as soon as new immigration rules come into force at the weekend.

The Home Secretary said that further expulsions were imminent and that it would be “absolutely foolish” to assume that there will not be a third terrorist attack in London.

The security services and immigration officials are understood to have drawn up a list of foreign extremists to be deported. Many are understood to be young clerics who have come in recent years from Pakistan and North Africa. These so-called preachers of hate are not as well known as clerics such as Abu Qatada and Omar Bakri Mohammed but are seen as stirring up hatred and extremism among young followers.

Muslim leaders have been consulted about a number of the suspects who are expected to be arrested shortly. Their identities are being kept secret for fear that the men may go into hiding before arrests can be made. As well as clerics, the list is understood to include owners of radical Islamic bookshops, writers, a number of teachers and website operators of different nationalities.

Mr Clarke spoke of further action against extremists after visiting the Metropolitan Police yesterday — his first day back at the Home Office since returning at the weekend from a holiday in the United States. He said that the Government would continue looking at people in this country whose presence was not conducive to the public good.

“Now we are consulting on the list of unacceptable behaviours and that consultation ends on August 19. After that we will still be looking at further steps that need to be taken to ensure that those people who are working against the interests of this country are properly dealt with.”

While on holiday Mr Clarke ordered the deportation of ten Islamic extremists. Among them is Abu Qatada, 44, described as al-Qaeda’s spiritual ambassador in Europe. He also banned the extremist cleric Omar Bakri Mohammed from Britain and stripped him of his leave to remain in the country.

A two-week consultation period which ends on Friday will allow the Government to introduce new rules to exclude people from Britain. In future unacceptable behaviour will include fomenting terrorism or seeking to provoke others to terror, justifying terrorism, fomenting other serious criminal activity, fostering hatred which may lead to intra-community violence, advocating violence in support of particular beliefs and expressing what the Government considers to be extreme views conflicting with Britain’s culture of tolerance.

It will apply to anyone preaching, public speeches, websites and those writing, publishing or distributing such material. British diplomats have been told to speed up their negotiations to get more countries to sign a deal to take militants who have been expelled.

The Government had hoped to secure written agreements with Algeria and Lebanon by now to add to the deal with Jordan signed last week. The priority is to swiftly iron out disagreements with Algeria since nine of the men arrested last week on Mr Clarke’s orders are believed to come from there.

Lawyers for Abu Qatada and the others have to lodge their first appeals by tomorrow and all are expected to demand a swift hearing before the Special Immigration Appeals Commission. The Jordanian authorities are finalising details of their extradition request for the cleric, whose real name is Omar Mahmoud Abu Omar.

• A terror suspect accused of recruiting and converting the Madrid train bombers could face a widescale breach of his human rights if returned to Spain, a British court was told yesterday.

  Moutaz Almallah Dabas, who was arrested in Slough in March, is accused of being the manager of an al-Qaedainspired group which included some of the Madrid bombers.

  Under the current terrorist threat, the Spanish legal authorities operated a system where suspects faced ill-treatment and possible torture, Bow Street Magistrates’ Court, in London, was told.

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