IMPORTANT STATEMENT FROM LIBERTY

The Government yesterday officially announced its proposals to increase pre-charge detention beyond the current 28 days in the forthcoming Counter-Terrorism Bill.
Under the new proposals:

· Individual suspects could be detained beyond 28 for up to 42 days

· This power would be included in the proposed Terrorism Bill but would need to be triggered by the Home Secretary

· The Home Secretary can activate the powers after receiving a joint report from the Director of Public Prosecutions and the police setting out the grounds for extension

· The Home Secretary will have to make a statement to Parliament within 2 days of activating the powers but Parliament will not have a vote on this

· Once activated these powers will last for 30 days and can then be renewed for a further 30 days, at this point there is a vote from Parliament (i.e. for a total of 60 days). After the 60 days has run out there would be nothing to stop the Home Secretary starting the process all over again

Our Objections

It is Liberty’s view that the Government’s new plans represent no improvement on what has been proposed before.

No evidence has yet been produced that more than 28 days, already the longest period of pre-charge detention among comparable democracies, is needed. The new proposals concentrate too much power in the hands of politicians, do not provide for genuine Parliamentary oversight and offer little or no place for judicial checks on the power of the Home Secretary.

Liberty is concerned that, under the new proposals:

Although the Home Secretary has spoken of the powers being “exceptional”, the proposal is for a power to hold people for over 28 days that can be turned on and off by the Home Secretary without any evidence of a genuine emergency situation
There is no authority in the new proposals for the judiciary to overturn the Home Secretary’s order (for example, if it was not compatible with the Human Rights Act)

Parliamentary approval is not needed to trigger these “exceptional” powers. Instead it is proposed that there would just be a debate in Parliament and a report from the Government’s Reviewer of Terrorism. There would be no vote until the laws had already been in force for 30 days
Playing Politics with Counter-Terrorism?

The Government has repeatedly said that it will seek consensus on its proposals. There is, in fact, a growing consensus against extending pre-charge detention. A series of high-profile figures have come forward recently to say that they see no need for any extension beyond the current 28 days. They include former Attorney General Lord Goldsmith, former Lord Chief Justice Lord Woolf, Sir Ken McDonald, the Director of Public Prosecutions, the Conservative and Liberal Democrat parties, individuals such as Rachel North, a survivor of the 7/7 bombings, and national newspapers across the political spectrum.

We will continue to update you when more information, and a timetable for the bill, is released. In the meantime, please continue to raise awareness among your friends, family and colleagues of how misleading the Government’s arguments are and how counter-productive their proposals could be by asking them to visit Charge or Release