I think that the Judge is right. Abu Qatada should actually be knighted. While you are at it, his experience in the British Justice system probably qualifies him to be a judge. I think the powdered wig would go well with the beard. But in the name of multiculturism, he probably should be allowed to wear his white caftan, rather than the traditional black robe. If he isn't interested in a legal career, I understand there might be an opening for an effective PM soon.

David, Minneapolis, USA

We used to have a name for this

Treason

call it what it is and punish it here.

andrew meikle, london,

Yes, its essential that our law process is well away from government BUT it is a double edged sword - the public may well be at risk now despite the control orders. To be honest the safety of the nation MUST take precedence over these people who, by their own actions have brought themselves to the courts processes for offences and SHOULD BE sent abroad , wherever and face the consequences....

antony, reading,

What is the next step, give him a British Passport, a nice three bedroom semi in North London and benefits so he does not have to work. That'll do nicely thank you!

Baz, London, UK

Why can't government officials discuss their proposals and ideas with judges before they commit to a plan? The present hit and miss system wastes time and credibility.

Mr McNulty does not come across as a sharp thinker.

We need independant judges and rule of law. Terrorists know that and one of their aims is to drag society into confusion and division.

M Price, Walsall,

I no longer understand the country I live in anymore.Nothing makes any sense All I do know is that I work extremeley hard, only to be robbed by the taxation system to pay to keep such insane criminals. I despair, like an increasing amount of people. I am also growing in anger which surely will spill out one day as people get utterly sickened by this useless government who we keep in the lap of luxury.
The poor enduring British people, how the government must despise us all and think us fools. But then now they have us all trapped in so much debt we barely have time to campaign and go on the streets to protest do we,were to knacked

David Spencer, LEICESTER, ENGLAND

Hafeez said:

"How irritating some posters find it for the Government to have to abide by the law. Would you rather it flouted the law when it wished? Perhaps a dictatorship would be preferable. "

A change of law would be prefereble. Of course western countries should be able to deport foreign criminal. I don't care what awaits them in their home land, that is not our responsability.

Perhaps if all these islamists would spend their time and energy changing the system in their own country, rather than abusing the hospitability of the west, perhaps then the islamic countries would be worth living in?

Anne Marie, Aalborg, Denmark

How about our grossly lop-sided extradtition treaty with the US, a country that publicly admits to using interrogation techniques that most people regard as torture? Or is that relationship "too special"?

Bill Peter, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

This rubbish tinpot labour government now finds itself unable to deport terrorists due to being caught up in its own stupid laws which is bad enough,but then the taxpayer has to fund them to stay in this country indefinitely how they must be laughing now that they can carry on plotting and get paid for it as well, a quote from the government was it would be to hard to change our laws what nonsense

fred, norwich,

How irritating some posters find it for the Government to have to abide by the law. Would you rather it flouted the law when it wished? Perhaps a dictatorship would be preferable.

The supremacy of the rule of law is something for which many have fought and desperately long to have in other countries. Yet here so many would prefer to ignore the law when it suited the way the wind blew that day.

So many comments about the judges are completely wide of the mark. Would posters prefer that judges simply chose not to apply the law because of their own opinions of the person before them? Is that what they would want for themselves if they were ever in Court? Of course not. They would want judges to apply the law as it stands, impartially.

In this country, access to the law and to justice is not determined by whether or not you or I or a judge like the person seeking such access. Rather than carping about our legal system we should be shouting our pride in it from the rooftops.

Hafeez, Fulham,

I can hardly believe what I am reading.
What right have these so called "judges" got to compromise the safety of the general public?
These fanatics are a real risk.
Entering the country illegally on false passports yet allowed to stay. What the hell is going on?

Terrorist indescriminate murderers of innocent people including women and children such as these vile perpetrators are SHOULD be tortured before being put down to make the world a safer and better place.

The UK is a safe haven for these murderers and at the expense of the taxpayers too.
Laws need to be changed to take account of the issues that have given terrorists the right to remain in the UK.

The UK is the dustbin of the world thanks to our lax laws and weak government.

Dek Crossingham, Birmingham, England

I honestly believe that the government should simply take this man, put him in a MoD plane and fly him to Jordan today regardless of this ruling.

These judges are dangerous idiots who have not the slightest idea about the real world and live in a bubble of idealistic twaddle.

They should be sacked.

Mark, London, UK

I weep for my country or what is left of it.

What can the ordinary law abiding Brit do but emigrate ?

Shana Burry, Radlett,

These extremists and terrorists who are willing to sacrifice their lives to kill innocent people in a religious Jihad, forfeit any human rights that they had by showing willingness to throw their own life away.
I think its a disgrace that human rights protesters protect people like this. Would they do the same for you ? I think not.

Kris, London , UK

"Home Secretary, this is ground control. We have a problem with our legal system.... Can you hear me up there, Home Secretary? Come in Home Secretary, this is ground control...."

S. Barraclough, Huddersfield, W. Yorkshire

Day after day we are given example of why the human rights law should be scrapped. Our government sits frozen like a rabbit caught in the headlights!

Ray Baker, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK

So just HOW much do we want to collar this bin Laden chappie, then?

We commit our armed forces to attack and bomb the taliban, not without colateral civilian damage, in Afghanistan, but not send a man to face his trial in Jordan, under anti-terrorism accords made by OUR government with one of our more amenable counterparts in the Middle East...

Oh dear, it seems our government was not acting within our law when it made those memoranda of agreement. No surprise there. It must have been in a bit of a spin.

Are we not though, under our own law, harbouring these terrorists?

Viktorovich, Moscow, RF

Stop blaming the judges. The blaim lays firmly at the feet of the Government who have bought in unworkable laws with little thought or experience and now sit back and watch the flak. The reason we have thousands of criminals leaving jail early is not the fault of the Police, Prison staff or judges it is simply the most incompetent Government known to man.

Roger, Surrey,

Looking at the big picture, this very visible action by the courts does more to win hearts and minds of the disaffected, not just in the UK but in the wider world. It demonstrates very clearly that the UK has an overwhelming sense of freedom; freedom of the courts, freedom from persecution and freedom from the power of the state.
Most people will be appalled at the judges' ruling (as I am), but it is their total independence from the executive that shows the world why our way of life is superior to the types of society that these misguided individuals would want tho impose on the rest of us.

Stuart S, Guildford, U.K.

Never mind "the law", what about justice for the rest of us?

Liz, London,

Abu Qatada & his like minded pals must be laughing all the way to Allah at the fiasco called British justice where the rights of every minority group supersede the rights of the indigenous majority. Bin Laden & the rest of his like minded chums would be well advised that instead of hiding away living a life in caves that they would be better off to come to the UK where the judges will protect them & their nefarious activities plotting to kill & maim all non muslims in this & every country in the world. Not only will they receive the full protection of the law but the British tax payer, who are also their potential victims, will pay to keep them housed, well fed & financially secure & also pay for legal aid when the government decides to try to kick them out. The Human Rights Act will defend them to the end & in order that they can have a family life all their dependants will be allowed here as well. The last thing on the mind of our judges is to protect the innocent law abiding citizen

Lynda Plum, London, england

Wouldn't it be easy enough for the security services to organise his accidental death at the hands of a mugger if we freed him? Or for him to have an argument turn nasty between him and another prisoner?

Scramaseax, UK,

Why do you British want to deport them so much? And to the country where they will certainly be freed (after some torture) and could return to haunt you another day. Why don't you lock them up while you can? You all wrongly think isolation of Britain is the answer.

Igor, Ljubljana, Slovenia

I've never seen a better argument for elected judges than this.

pete, york, uk

We have to stop looking at everything through the lenses of political correctness, or rose coloured glasses and actually look on the reality of the situation. These are dangerous men that would slit your throat or kill your neighbour in a heart beat and do not deserve the breaks that they have been given by the legal system. What do they have to fear now? Three square meals a day, an exercise yard, access to Internet, and the ability to continue recruiting children to fight their war like the cowards they are. It is time to stifle a little bit of free speech and maybe consider the rights of Britons for a change. Whatever we do, we must express our convictions at the polls, and vote the current government out. The Campaign Against Political Correctness has a great web site and online petition. Give them your support. It will be the first step you take towards creating a realistic Britain that is good for all Britons and not just those considered visible.

Douglas Cochrane, Halifax,

I am left wondering if Judges are part of civil society in Britain. I know we pay for their privelaged lifestyles and easy working life through our taxes which I and others earn the hard way. They are called "judges" which falsely implies they have the capacity for judgement but they hide behind their interpretation of law. Law does not equal justice and the law is interpreted, not self-evident. If judges are incapable of lifting their heads up out of a law book and seeing what is happening in the society that cosets them they are worse than useless. They bring the law into disrepute. "if the leaders have no vision, then the people perish."

Charles, Edinburgh,

It is in the governments interest to keep the terrorist threat going, it justifies any method of control that they want to bring in to control the normal hard working Brit. It used to be the cold war now it is terrorism, they always need something.

Peter Fordham, Pego, Spain

Richard, would you be more satisfied if these "suspects" had killed people? Until a bomber detonates, he's still just a suspect... but with the evidence obtained against these fellows, there is no doubt of their guilt. The question remains: why are their rights overruling the rights of British citizens to live without potential terrorists in their midst? It simply boggles the mind that inmates can have this many rights.

You should indeed feel some sense of shame for your country, Richard, because once again, judicial activism by UK judges have prevented anyone from achieving any measure of justice.

Michael, Montreal, Canada

Richard Thripplton, Cambridge, dont play the skin color card its way off the mark! Maybe you are unaware of what these people think and want to Westerners, if you scratch the surface of their belief system, you would be afraid and stop whining about human rights of people who believe they will be rewarded in heaven for bumping off as many non believers as they can.

Clare, Cambridge, UK

What a joke. People found guilty of crimes should be held accountable in whatever country the crime was commited. If a crime was committed in Jordan then so be it he should be deported to stand trial.

Aren't we trying to extradite a guy from Yemen on suspicion of committing a murder in London

I am like most other British citizens getting sick to death of hearing the phrase "Human Rights" its actually misrepresentation. it should be called " Criminals rights"

Graham, london, UK

Just another example of this useless Govenment, what about the cost? control orders, lawyers, prison etc can't we an election now.

Mark, Derby,

Its ironic that a democratically elected government is trying to do what most decent British citizens would encourage it to do i.e. to deport the West-hating, extremist Islamic dross back to a country to face trial for substantial crimes yet our un-elected British judiciary are more interested in finding ways to allow them the freedom to bomb, murder and spread hatred among us.
Maybe the electorate should have more of a say in who sits on the Bench and then we would get a more cohesive, safer society. This sort of mania would not happen in the USA - the first priority is always the security of the law-abiding majority - not the questionable 'human rights' of bombers, murderers and extremists.
If anyone was in doubt where the power lies in this country they now have the answer. These judges should hang their heads in shame.

Oxford Don, Oxford, UK

We extradite to the USA

They use torture

Looks like we need to review those cases too.

Pete, Edinburgh,

If Abu Q subsequently commits or causes to commit a terrorist act,and comes up in front of one of these"learned" judges I wonder as to their reaction,and how they would reflect on this strange and potentially dangerous decision

No doubt "the government" would receive the blame for this very questionable ruling!!!!!

brouillac, Bradenton, Florida

Maybe if these three judges had these terrorist types living next door they would not be ready to put them back in circulation. There is no doubt they WILL go on plotting against the decent human beings who make up the public in general. I thought it was the governments job to protect us.

Edward Draper, connahs quay, Flintshire

This government has a love affair with terrorists and their ilk. They would not admit a Ghurka VC because he had no substantial connection with Britain but take care of and fund all sorts of non British types who are a grave threat to the UK.

The terrorist threat to the UK is totally self inflicted.

John, clifton, nottingham

Why all the complaining about the Human Rights Act? In effect, all it's saying is "This country doesn't endorse torture or the death penalty" in this context. Could all the HRA opponents here be honest, and come out and say that they want people to be tortured or killed? It's not a position I agree with, but at least it's more honest than hiding behind vague criticisms of a law.

Richard Thrippleton, Cambridge,

I'm not sure a lot of commenters are reading the article that closely either. They're terrorist scum, you say? What have these people been convicted of? They're suspects, emphasis on the "suspects" part, not convicted criminals.

Or is it ok to torture and kill potentially innocent people, just because they have darker skin than yours? The comments here almost make me ashamed to be a UK citizen, and make me want to use words that would be inappropriate on a Times comment board.

Richard Thrippleton, Cambridge,

When is somone going to stand up for the rights of ordinary people? Haven't we got a right to be able to go about our lives without the fear of crime or terrorism????????

Luke Nicolaides, London, UK

Thankfully some of the posters here aren't Court of Appeals judges.......the media seems to beat up on the fact that the Courts are soft on crime. Courts aren't soft on crime, but they are BIG on justice and like it or not sh*pping a person off to a a country where they are likely to be executed or tortured is nothing short of Court sanctioned "rendition".

Whilst this is not an ideal situation, its not as though the individual in question is going to be set free, they will still be imprisoned and if the security forces have any brains closely monitored. The response by some posters borders on hysteria!

Fredi, Battersea,

So he can't be prosecuted in the UK, can't be imprisoned for safety of public and now, can't be deported.
Instead, terrorists will have control orders.

It's enough to make you weep.

So who, exactly, is looking after the best interests of Britain and her people ?

Bottom line - it's not the judges fault. it's incompetent, politically correct politicians putting place laws they don't understand (but are told to because Bliar and/or McClown want it.)

Even the most idealised liberal must start seeing that the Human Rights Act simply isn't working. it's ideals are great IF everyone is law abiding. The problem is - it just doesn't allow enough latitude if the criminal happens to be a homicidal maniac who would like to kill us all.

Triffid, London,

It is not the fault of the judges - they don't like it anymore than anyone else - they are merely applying the Human Rights Act 1998 which was introduced by Blair.

It is simply impossible in law to deport a person where there is a risk to the life of that person in the proposed country of deportation - the judges merely enforce that law but deserve no blame in that.

amg, London,

Instead of deportation why not give them a country estate paid for by the fees charged by Human rights lawyers.
We as a country can deport wives,children and job holding immigrants but not anybody deemed a threat to our country.Bloody pathetic.

stephanie, norwich, norfolk

It will take two x 9/11 before this soft government gets tough on Islamic Terrorists and we can not blame the judges they only implement the laws that Nu-liebour make. People killed bombs on buses on the underground and still we welcome theses scum to our shores.

John, Carlisle, England

Apsolute disgrace! Who cares if there gonna torture him he's scum. Send the judges who ruled this with him.

Dean, Southampton, England

Has anybody thought that the judges maybe working for
Al-Qaeda?

Les Dunn, Eindhoven,

Just do a Con-air. I don't care where they are taken as long as it's away from here.

Phil, Preston,

Control orders all round. Phew, everyone can relax.

David Masu, Zürich,

I am disgusted that are national security is left to these people who abuse their power to constantly differ from the police and government on issues such as this,clearly they do not understand the threats to our country,as a taxpayer I am disgusted to be funding these type of extremists,Labour party take note for the next election !!

Its another reason to leave UK !! however I will vote to make sure these fools,the government, are voted out of office.

As for the Judges and Law lords stick to your freemasonery and skullduggery,frankly you disgust me.

Eric, Londonistan, Englandstan

I do hope these control orders are capable of stopping hurt and injury and the judges have a salve for the wounded and the families of the dead that they will undoubtedly leave behind on their final suicide mission.

CD, Epworth, UK

The law is an ass.

It says that Our lives and the lives of those who have been murdered by teorrists inspired by this man are of less importance than the possibility of this man being tortured.

The government should simply ignore this ruling and deport him.

dominic, Teddington, Middlesex, UK