This is what happens when you give up sovereignty to a European Court.

Abu Qatada's deportation is 'excellent news', says David Cameron

David Cameron said he was “absolutely delighted” that Abu Qatada has been deported after an eight-year fight to throw him out of Britain.

The terrorism suspect has landed in Jordan after his plane left at about 2.45am on Sunday morning, following a legal battle that cost more than £1.7 million.

The case prompted calls for reforms to human rights laws to make it easier to eject foreign criminals from the country.

The Prime Minister said it was “excellent news” that the 53-year-old cleric, once described as Osama bin Laden’s right-hand man in Europe, was no longer in the UK.

“I was absolutely delighted,” Mr Cameron said. “This was something this Government said it would get done and we have got it done.

“It’s an issue that, like the rest of the country, has made my blood boil that this man who has no right to be in our country, who was a threat to our country and that it took so long and was so difficult to deport him.

“But we’ve done it, he’s back in Jordan, and that’s excellent news.”

Qatada is facing terrorism charges in Jordan but his deportation was blocked over concerns that he may not receive a fair trial.

The European Court of Human rights ruled that he could not be deported due to a risk that evidence obtained under torture could be used against him.

Following numerous courtroom battles, a treaty was signed between the British and Jordanian governments that finally secured Qatada's departure.

Qatada agreed in May to leave Britain once the treaty had been fully ratified, a process which was completed earlier this week.

However, the length of time and cost to taxpayers, which included almost £900,000 in legal aid for Qatada to fight his case, has angered MPs and campaigners.

_{Handout photo issued by the Ministry of Defence of Abu Qatada (left) at RAF Northolt. Photo: PA}

Soon after Qatada’s flight took off, Theresa May, the Home Secretary gave a series of television interviews calling for radical legal reforms to make it easier to deport criminals from Britain.

She said the UK’s relationship with the European Court of Human Rights must change, adding that “nothing should be off the table”.

“I am glad that this government's determination to see him on a plane has been vindicated and that we have at last achieved what previous governments, Parliament and the British public have long called for,” she said.

“This dangerous man has now been removed from our shores to face the courts in his own country.

“I am also clear that we need to make sense of our human rights laws and remove the many layers of appeals available to foreign nationals we want to deport. We are taking steps - including through the new Immigration Bill - to put this right.”

The government is reforming the deportation process to reduce the number of times individuals can appeal to courts in the UK, she said.

However, Britain must also re-examine “our relationship with the European Court of Human Rights”, she said.

“We have got to look at that relationship and, as far as I’m concerned, I think nothing should be off the table in terms of looking at how we work with and how we deal with the European Court.”

Keith Vaz, the Labour MP and chairman of the Home Affairs Select Committee, said government lawyers should have drawn up the treaty with Jordan sooner.

“Only 446 days after the Home Secretary said Abu Qatada would be on a plane shortly, he has finally reached the end of the runway,” Mr Vaz zaid.

“In the end, it was the king of Jordan who secured his departure by agreeing to this treaty.

“The Home Secretary's legal advisers will have questions to answer as to why they didn't conceive of this scheme earlier which would have prevented a cost to the taxpayer of £1.7 million.”