THE radical Islamist cleric Abu Qatada is to remain in custody following an alleged breach of bail conditions.
It follows a ruling by Mr Justice Irwin which said he must return to Belmarsh Prison following his arrest by UK Border Agency officials on Friday, the Judicial Office said. He was arrested on Friday following raids in London by counter-terrorism police.
The decision was made during an urgent Special Immigration Appeals Commission meeting by phone yesterday. The meeting heard that Qatada may have had prohibited communications equipment at his London home.
The detention comes days before a government bid to have the cleric deported to Jordan to face terrorism allegations. Tomorrow, the government will go to the Court of Appeal in a bid to overturn a judge's decision to allow Qatada to stay in the UK.
Qatada's bail conditions include only being allowed out of his house between 8am and 4pm, having to wear an electronic tag, and being restricted in who he meets.
According to court papers, he is alleged to have used, or switched on, mobile phones at his house and/or to have allowed rewriteable CDs or memory sticks to be brought there.
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