“No basis” for detention limits
MPs have rejected the government’s case for an extension of the period terror suspects can be held without charge.
A report from the home affairs select committee says it cannot recommend a specific maximum limit on detention, let alone back the Home Office’s wish to extend this period to 42 days.
It calls on both the police and government to produce better evidence justifying an increase from the present 28-day limit, saying civil liberties must not be eroded further without more substantial evidence.
Committee chairman Keith Vaz said he was surprised by home secretary Jacqui Smith’s admission that only six of 71 consultation responses had supported the government’s proposal.
But he expressed approval for the way the Home Office had dealt with the issue, contrasting it with Tony Blair’s failed attempt to extend the limit to 90 days in November 2005.
“The committee welcomed the government’s approach in respect of their recent proposals and their willingness to consult widely on this important issue,” he said.
“Both we and many of the witnesses felt this was in contrast to the attitude taken by the government on the last occasion when they wished to extend pre-charge detention.”
The report warned that police would have to show Muslim and other especially-affected groups they were using the time during which people are detained effectively.
A negative perception on the speed of evidence assessment and a lack of willingness to press charges “damages police credibility”, it adds.
Civil rights group Liberty said its concerns of weak parliamentary and judicial oversight had been vindicated by the report’s conclusions.
“As parliament rises for Christmas, the consensus against the government’s anti-terror policy is snowballing,” director Shami Chakrabarti commented.
Welcoming the report, home secretary Jacqui Smith said: “I welcome the committee’s view that the current pre-charge detention limit may prove inadequate in future and its recognition of the need to develop proposals to extend it beyond 28 days.
“The 28-day limit would only be extended where there was an exceptional operational need for a temporary higher limit. This would be subject to the approval of parliament while the detention of individual suspects would be approved by a senior judge following rigorous scrutiny of any application from the crown prosecution service.”
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