Britain's interior ministry has won permission to appeal against a decision by judges to block the extradition of terror suspect Abu Qatada to Jordan, a spokesman said on Wednesday. A judge accepted the Home Office's challenge against last month's ruling by Britain's Special Immigration Appeals Commission (SIAC), which blocked the extradition over fears that evidence obtained through torture could be used against Abu Qatada.

"We are pleased that the Court of Appeal has granted us permission to appeal against SIAC's decision on the deportation of Abu Qatada," a spokesman for the Home Office told AFP. "As we have said, the Government strongly disagrees with SIAC's ruling, and we remain committed to deporting this dangerous man."

The radical Islamist cleric - dubbed Osama bin Laden's right-hand man in Europe - was released on bail following the SIAC ruling, in a severe blow to the British government. British authorities have kept him in custody for most of the last decade and repeatedly tried to send him to Jordan to face trial.

Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2012