Britain’s attorney general said Tuesday he was “very concerned” about the release on bail of radical cleric Abu Qatada, amid a hail of press criticism, but said the government was bound by the rule of law. A British judge on Monday ordered the release of the 51-year-old Jordanian, allegedly a former top aide of late Al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden, under strict bail conditions despite government concerns he poses a security risk. Qatada has been fighting British attempts to deport him to Jordan for more than six years, most of which he has spent in jail, but without charge. “The government is obviously very concerned about this case and very much wishes to see Abu Qatada deported to Jordan and, when he is in Jordan, tried fairly if the Jordanian authorities wish to put him on trial,” Attorney General Dominic Grieve told BBC radio. However, he added: “The court has indicated not surprisingly that it isn’t possible in the United Kingdom to keep people detained without trial forever and the government is bound by the rule of law as much as anybody else.”
