The Muslim News

London, (The Muslim News OnLine):

The Conservatives will be opposing the proposed extension of the pre-charge detention period from 28 to 42 days when it goes to a Commons vote this Wednesday.

The proposed extension will be opposed on the basis that there is not enough evidence to support it.

Shadow Attorney General, Dominic Grieve, told The Muslim News, “It’s a very unusual and draconian power; it undoubtedly undermines the rights of the individual and civil liberties. If it’s going to be carried out, it has to be for a very good reason and it seems to us that the government hasn’t made out that reason at all.”

The Conservatives were not convinced by the recent concession announced by the Home Secretary, Jacqui Smith, on June 2.

The concessions would limit the power to detain suspects for up to 42 days for a grave terrorist emergency only and not for routine investigations. This will be reviewed once a year and MPs would be able to vote on endorsing the introduction of the power within a week of it being introduced.

Parliament would be given the power to vote again on whether to retain the 42-day detention power within 30 days of it first being introduced.

The power is also to be up for renewal every 30 days instead of every 60.

The Home Secretary would be required to have received independent legal advice that the country faced an event or situation that amounted to "a grave exceptional terrorist threat" and would also have to tell MPs that such a threat had occurred or was occurring.

However, Grieve said, “We indicated to the Government that in a state of emergency we would accept that extraordinary powers might be needed and if the Government wanted to make those more coherent and better drafted than they currently are in the Civil Contingencies Act (CCA), we would consider that carefully and we would be likely to be sympathetic, but that’s not what the Government has done with the concessions. The concessions do still create a completely new power for the Home Secretary to extend detention from 28 days to 42 days and we just don’t think that’s justified at all.

“In an ideal world, I would like to see the period reduced; equally, I acknowledge that there is a serious terrorist threat facing this country and we could only reduce the 28 days to 14 days if we can be satisfied that that can be done safely…At the moment I have to accept that there does appear to be grounds for taking the view that 28 days, albeit much longer than I feel comfortable with, is reasonable in relation to the threat that is being faced.”

Former Prime Minister, Sir John Major, is also opposing the measure.

Writing in The Times, he said, “The Government has introduced measures to protect against terrorism. These go beyond anything contemplated when Britain faced far more regular - and no less violent - assaults from the IRA. The justification of these has sometimes come close to scaremongering.”

Email this story to a friend | Printable Version

CS4 CS3 software

Graphics oem softsare