Legal battles loom to challenge British bid to deport Islamists

The foreigners -- said to include reputed al-Qaeda "ambassador" Abu Qatada, 44, from Jordan -- were rounded up Thursday in dawn raids by immigration officers and police in London and other parts of Britain.

Home Secretary Charles Clarke said they all faced deportation on national security grounds, but on Friday the lawyer representing seven of them, Gareth Pierce, said it was "inevitable" that there would be a legal challenge.

She cast doubt on Prime Minister Tony Blair's plan, set out a week ago, to send Islamists back to their countries of origin, notably in the Middle East, so long as London has assurances that they will not be abused or tortured.

Pierce, who specialises in human rights cases involving terrorism suspects, said the Home Office could not claim that countries like Jordan or Algeria had undergone "overnight any internal revolution that does away with torture".

"Ultimately, the move risks disenfranchising this country from the international community that guarantees true observance of fundamental human rights," she said.

"We cannot be part of that community, which means abiding by our treaty obligations, and trade human beings at will in this way. This is insane and dangerous government at its worse."

Claiming that "the rules of the game are changing," Blair announced last week a raft of measures -- including speeded-up deportations -- in the wake of the July 7 bombing of three London Underground trains and a double-decker bus that killed 56 people, including four apparent suicide bombers.

Three other people have been charged with attempted murder in connection with a failed attempt on July 21 to repeat the British capital's worst ever terrorist attack. A fourth is being held in Rome pending extradition.

In Amman, Jordanian Interior Minister Awni Yervas said he expected Britain to deport Abu Qatada "next week" under the terms of an extradition agreement signed on Wednesday.

Home Office officials in London pointed out, however, that under British law, any foreigner detained for potential deportation can appeal.