British authorities reluctantly released terror suspect Abu Qatada on bail yesterday after judges ruled that the man dubbed Osama bin Laden’s right-hand man in Europe should not be extradited to Jordan.

Abu Qatada has been in custody for most of the last 10 years

Heavily bearded and wearing a black turban, the radical Islamist preacher smiled slightly as he was driven out of the high-security Long Lartin prison in central England in the back of a black minibus.

A small group of protesters gathered outside Abu Qatada’s house in northwest London and chanted slogans calling for his deportation, as the father-of-five arrived home and was escorted into the modest terraced house by officials.

The court ruling on Monday was a severe blow for the British Government, which has kept Abu Qatada in custody for most of the past 10 years and repeatedly tried to send him to the Middle East.

The Jordanian of Palestinian origin was convicted in absentia in Jordan in 1998 for involvement in terror attacks, but British judges accepted his argument that evidence obtained by torture might be used against him in a retrial.

Abu Qatada, who is in his early 50s, will be under a curfew 16 hours a day but can leave his home between 8am and 4pm.

He will have to wear an electronic tag and restrictions will be placed on who he meets.