Abu Qatada deportation farce no big deal, says Kenneth Clarke Kenneth Clarke said the courts should decide on which day the appeal deadline expired for Abu Qatada's case. The justice secretary, Kenneth Clarke, has tried to limit the damage over the "chaotic" deportation of the radical Islamist cleric Abu Qatada by arguing that the courts should be left to decide whether his last-minute appeal should be allowed to go ahead and whether he should be freed on bail. Clarke said the home secretary, Theresa May, "could well be proved right" in her claim that Qatada's fresh application should not be heard by the European court of human rights because it arrived after the appeal deadline. But he stopped short of fully endorsing her argument and instead said it should be left to the courts to decide on which day the deadline expired. He said the courts should also decide whether Qatada, who has been linked to al-Qaida and described as a threat to national security, is freed again on bail now that his deportation can no longer be described as "imminent." The appeal to Strasbourg has had the effect of re-imposing a legal freeze on any deportation proceedings until it is resolved by the human rights judges - a process that could take months. Clark told BBC Radio 4's Today Programme he was sure it would be sorted out: "I'm not party and I'm still not party to the Home Office legal advice. If I was the home secretary, I would probably be confident it was right. I know what the home secretary has said. It seems to me quite sound and she could well be proved right. I'm not quite sure what the big deal is either, because she did say that this whole thing was going to take some months in any event before this whole thing could be resolved. The key thing is when do we get the decision which we want, which is that he should be deported to Jordan to stand trial in a case where torture has not been used to get the evidence. The home secretary is due to make a written Commons statement on Thursday to explain the situation to MPs, who believe that the fresh attempt to deport Qatada, which she initiated on Monday, has quickly descended into farce. Her embarrassment could be compounded as the preacher's lawyers prepare a fresh attempt to free him on bail just three days after he was returned to maximum security prison pending his deportation. The lawyers lodged an appeal at 11pm on Tuesday, blind-siding the Home Office, which believed the deadline for appeals to the court had expired 24 hours earlier at midnight on Monday. The home secretary has denied her officials got their dates wrong and insisted that Qatada's re-arrest was legal. The Strasbourg court has maintained all week that the deadline was Tuesday night and Home Office lawyers were aware of the dispute over the deadline when it was raised in court earlier this week. The development came in the same week as the British-organised Council of Europe conference to reform the working of the European court of human rights. It begins in Brighton on Thursday. May told the Commons on Tuesday that Qatada could be sent back to Jordan "in full compliance with the law." The Home Office insists the deadline for appeals had expired, lifting the "rule 39" injunction and clearing the way for his deportation. Qatada has no right to refer the case to the grand chamber of the European court of human rights, since the three-month deadline to do so lapsed at midnight on Monday night. His case should be heard in British courts, as the home secretary outlined to parliament. In the meantime, he remains in custody," a Home Office spokesman said. A Strasbourg spokeswoman said: "It is always open to the other party in the case to argue that a referral request is not made within the time limit. One of the questions that the grand chamber panel will have to decide is whether the request was sent within the time limit set out in article 43 of the convention. We cannot comment on the view taken by the UK authorities about when the deadline expired. Article 43 states that the three calendar months are not interrupted by bank holidays. May claimed the appeal was no more than a delaying tactic by Qatada's lawyers and insisted it was out of time. There is no question that we have broken the law in arresting Abu Qatada. I am absolutely sure we got the deadline date correct," she said. We believe the appeal is outside the deadline. His lawyers only decided to lodge this appeal after they saw the strength of our case at the special immigration appeals commission to resume his deportation to Jordan. She said that once the issue was resolved the deportation proceedings would be resumed. David Cameron said he was still determined to expel Qatada. The prime minister said on Wednesday evening: "I am absolutely clear, the entire government is clear, and frankly I think the country is clear, that this man has no right to be in our country. He is a threat to our security, he has absolutely no further call on our hospitality and he should be deported. That is what we are determined to achieve, no matter how difficult it is, no matter how long it may take. Yvette Cooper, the shadow home secretary, said: "The home secretary needs to urgently come back to parliament to tell the public what on earth has happened here. The Home Office are saying one thing, the European court another. Why didn't they just agree the deadline in advance so there could be no opportunity for Abu Qatada or his lawyers to exploit? We said to Theresa May that there seemed to be a troubling level of confusion over this process, and so it has proved. Cooper added: "We need urgent clarification from the home secretary on whether she got the timing wrong and why checks were not made with the ECHR, whether Abu Qatada may now be released because of a government mistake, and what is happening now to ensure this process is put back on track." Keith Vaz, the chairman of the Commons home affairs select committee, said Qatada's deportation was becoming "chaotic and almost farcical." The Conservative backbencher David Davis said the Home Office had "dropped the home secretary and her ministers in it." The former shadow home secretary said he hoped Qatada was not released on bail but remained in custody in maximum security conditions.