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Hate cleric Abu Qatada is due to be deported from RAF Northolt
He will stand trial in his native Jordan for terrorist plots in 1999 and 2000
Qatada's wife, two sons and two daughters will probably remain in the UK

By Abul Taher
PUBLISHED: 21:10 GMT, 6 July 2013 | UPDATED: 11:12 GMT, 7 July 2013

Booted out: Abu Qatada, 53, is due to be deported on Sunday morning

Neighbours of Abu Qatada have threatened to stop paying council tax if his family is not removed from the area.

Qatada was this morning due to be flown to Jordan in a private jet commissioned by the Home Office from RAF Northolt after a ten-year battle costing taxpayers £2 million.

But it is believed that his wife, two sons and two daughters will remain living in the UK.

Now residents in Stanmore, North-West London, where the family live, want them removed, saying they are ‘fed up’.

They have signed a petition threatening to refuse to pay council unless the family is evicted.

One neighbour in her 40s, who does not want to be identified, said that she and dozens of others have signed the petition, which they have submitted to Harrow Council. Harrow Council has not yet responded.

The family of Qatada, 53, moved into a four-bedroom detached house on the street about six months ago.

They are all believed to be living on benefits.

Qatada was living there too until March when he was re-arrested for breaching his strict bail conditions.

He has been in custody at maximum security Belmarsh prison in South-East London since then.

Another neighbour said: ‘Why should they stay here on benefits while we pay taxes.

'People like that should not have been allowed to live in this country.’

She added that residents were afraid of having such a dangerous terrorist’s family living in their midst.

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Qatada has been described as ‘Osama bin Laden’s ambassador in Europe’.
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Long battle: It seems as though Home Secretary Theresa May has finally managed to decade-long deport Abu Qatada

Long battle: It seems as though Home Secretary Theresa May has finally managed to conclude the Home Office's decade-long campaign to deport Abu Qatada

A middle-aged couple, who live next door to the Qatada family, refused to answer any questions though when asked if the Qatada family were leaving the area, the woman replied: ‘I hope so.’

Qatada’s deportation to Jordan was made possible when Britain and the Arab kingdom signed a treaty ensuring that no evidence gathered from torture will be used against him in any future trial.

The fanatic, a Jordanian national, is wanted in his native country for terrorist plots in 1999 and 2000.

Harrow Council could not be reached for comment.