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Who paid to free Abu Qatada? Kember, the Iraq hostage who didn’t thank his SAS rescuers
If Norman Kember was a woman I would refer this to Mary for “dozy bint of the month”. As he is a man he will have to be prize pillock of the year. And that’s flattering him.
A former British hostage held in Iraq today revealed that he helped pay the bail for jailed radical preacher Abu Qatada.
Norman Kember, a 77-year-old peace campaigner from Pinner, said he gave the money out of “kindness” in return for Qatada's help while he was being held by his kidnappers.
Mr Kember was saved by the SAS after four months in captivity at a cost of hundreds of thousands of pounds. He was criticised after his release over claims — which he later denied — that he had failed to thank his SAS rescuers.
Extremist cleric Qatada is viewed by the Home Office as a serious danger to the public. Officials are trying to deport him to Jordan but yesterday he won an appeal against his detention and will now be freed on bail under a 22 hour-a-day curfew.
Home Secretary Jacqui Smith and opposition parties have hit out at the ruling amid concern that the release of Qatada — once described as Osama bin Laden's right-hand man in Europe — will pose a threat to national security.
Today, however, Mr Kember said he felt that Qatada should be freed because the British authorities had failed to prosecute him.
He said that if Qatada, who has been in jail awaiting deportation since 2002, had been convicted then he should serve his sentence, but in the absence of a trial it was wrong to continue to detain him.
“If you want to keep him in jail you have to have good reasons for doing it otherwise al Qaeda have you — if you don't follow your process of justice,” he said.
Mr Kember said he had given hundreds, rather than thousands, of pounds and had sent Qatada a copy of his book, Hostage In Iraq. He added that he expected to be criticised.
He said that he hoped Qatada's release “would encourage a conversation with Muslims” and greater understanding of the religion and urged more people to try to speak to the cleric to “understand what his position is and why he takes it”.
Anybody reading here does understand –but if in doubt look through the back archive.
Mr Kember and three other men were kidnapped in Baghdad in November 2005 by a group calling itself the Swords of Truth Brigade.
One of the hostages, American Tom Fox, was murdered by his captors. After his rescue, the head of the British Army, General Sir Mike Jackson, said he was “saddened” by Mr Kember's apparent lack of gratitude towards his SAS saviours.
The Bible tells us to love our enemies and pray for them. It does not tell us to arm them and aid them against us.
