Manfred Nowak told the Guardian newspaper Wednesday night that he was seeking permission to visit Britain to discuss the issue with Home Secretary Charles Clarke.

His remarks followed Clarke's announcement of "unacceptable behaviors" that are to become grounds for deportation, including justifying, glorifying or fomenting terrorism. The home secretary said he expected the first expulsions to take place within the "next few days."

The new rules, which do not require additional legislation, extend grounds for deportation to include the expression of views which "foment, justify or glorify terrorist violence in furtherance of particular beliefs," or "seek to provoke others to terrorist acts."

Individuals who "foment other serious criminal activity or seek to provoke others to serious criminal acts" or "foster hatred which might lead to inter-community violence in the U.K." will also be vulnerable to exclusion.

Ten foreign nationals are currently in custody pending deportation, including Abu Qatada, a radical cleric convicted in absentia in his home country of Jordan in connection with a series of bombings. Several others come from countries such as Algeria, Tunisia, Lebanon and Morocco, all countries with poor human rights records. The government has said it is also assessing further individuals.

In a statement Tuesday night, Nowak said that the government's intention to deport outspoken radicals to regardless of the human rights records of the recipient nations "reflects a tendency in Europe to circumvent the international obligation not to deport anybody if there is a serious risk that he or she might be subjected to torture."

The European Convention on Human Rights prohibits the deportation of individuals to countries where they may face persecution or abuse.

Nowak's comments provoked a furious response from the home secretary, who said "the human rights of those people who were blown up on the tube in London on July 7 are, to be quite frank, more important than the human rights of the people who committed those acts."

He added: "I wish the U.N. would look at human rights in the round, rather than simply focusing all the time on the terrorist."

But Professor Nowak rejected the criticism, saying: "The U.N. is strongly concerned about terrorism and counter-terrorism. But there are certain standards that have to be observed in the context of counter-terrorism.

"We in the western democratic countries, in the fight against terrorism, should not step over these limits by violating international law."

Nowak said he could cite Britain when he reports to the United Nations general assembly in New York in October. However he hoped the issue could be resolved before then, he said.

The U.N. investigator's primary objection is to the British government's policy of obtaining memoranda of understanding from recipient nations that deportees will not be tortured. Such documents were "not an appropriate tool to eradicate this risk," he said.

Legal and human rights groups have also condemned the practice, with many legal experts saying the documents are worth little more than a piece of paper.

However it is no longer certain that the government will be able to obtain even these agreements. The only memorandum so far agreed is with Jordan; negotiations with nine other countries are ongoing.

Whitehall officials said Wednesday that negotiations were not as advanced as originally expected. Prime Minister Tony Blair said on Aug. 5 that he had had "very constructive conversations" with the leaders of Algeria and Lebanon; officials reported that the government was "still working on negotiations" with these two countries.

The government also hopes to reach similar agreements with Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, Libya, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. A Foreign Office spokesperson told United Press International Thursday that talks with at least some of these countries were ongoing.

The New York-based Human Rights Watch concurred with Nowak that the memoranda would do nothing to reduce the risk of mistreatment or to change the obligation not to expose people to torture.

Speaking with regard to the memorandum signed with Jordan on Aug. 10, Joe Stork, deputy director of Human Right Watch's Middle East division warned that there was still torture in Jordan, especially in cases of security suspects.

"All the good reasons that prevented the U.K. from deporting people to Jordan before August 10 remain unchanged by this agreement."

Britain and Jordan are both parties to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, which prohibits torture, and the transfer, return (refoulement) or expulsion of persons to countries where there are substantial grounds for believing that they would be in danger of being subjected to torture.

"Under international law, the prohibition against torture and refoulement is absolute and cannot be waived under any circumstances," the organization said.

Tony Blair has threatened to amend or repeal parts of the Human Rights Act (which incorporates the European Convention on Human Rights into British law) should the judiciary rule against the deportations on appeal.

David Cameron, shadow education secretary and a favorite to take over as Conservative leader, said Wednesday he would support withdrawal from the European Convention.

Speaking at the Foreign Policy Center in London, he said that while he was a "big supporter of human rights," he believed it was wrong that under the ECHR the danger posed by the individual to society was not taken into material consideration if there was any risk to his person should he be deported.

The judiciary, however, may disagree. Several senior legal figures have hit back at suggestions from the government that it should bend to the will of Parliament and take more account of national security concerns; the courts, they say, have a duty to uphold the rule of law and protect civil liberties in the face of ministerial pressure.

Blair has predicted "a lot of battles" with the courts; it now seems that such battles may reach far further than simply the British justice system.

Human rights lawyer Gareth Peirce, who represents several of the men facing deportation, has warned that withdrawal from the European Convention will also mean banishment "in disgrace" from the Council of Europe, the oldest intergovernmental European institution. Britain would then become the only EU member outside the council.

But even if Britain should do so, it now seems the government could face further clashes with the United Nations. Blair may find himself bound up in a fight with far wider ramifications than he ever expected.

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