Theresa May in Jordan to discuss Abu Qatada deportation

Qatada was released from Long Lartin high-security jail in Evesham, Worcestershire, on February 13 after applying for bail when human rights judges in Europe ruled he could not be deported without assurances from Jordan that evidence gained through torture would not be used against him.

The Strasbourg-based European Court of Human Rights ruled that sending Qatada back without such assurances would be a "flagrant denial of justice".

Mr Justice Mitting, chairman of the Special Immigration Appeals Commission, then ruled that Qatada should be bailed after six and a half years in custody and gave the Home Secretary three months to show significant progress had been made in the talks or risk Qatada being freed without conditions.

^{Hate figure: attempts to deport Abu Qatada to his native Jordan have been blocked [Photo: Jonathan Evans / Rex Features]}

Qatada was let out under some of the toughest conditions imposed since the September 11 terror attacks.

He is free to leave his London home for just two one-hour periods each day, is banned from taking his youngest child to school, and cannot talk to anyone who has not been vetted by the security services.

He is also banned from visiting mosques, leading prayers, giving lectures or preaching, other than to offer advice to his wife and children at his home.

Qatada, also known as Omar Othman, was convicted in his absence in Jordan of involvement with terror attacks in 1998 and has featured in hate sermons found on videos in the flat of one of the September 11 bombers.

Since 2001, when fears of the domestic terror threat rose in the aftermath of the attacks, he has challenged, and ultimately thwarted, every attempt by the Government to detain and deport him.