Britain withdraws terror detention law after defeat

13 October 2008

by Alice Ritchie

LONDON -The British government on Monday withdrew a plan to extend the time suspected violent extremists can be held without charge after the House of Lords voted against it.

Home Secretary Jacqui Smith said she would remove plans to extend the limit from 28 to 42 days from a proposed counter-terrorism bill, but could re-introduce the measure in a separate law at a later date.

Opponents of the proposal, including opposition lawmakers, civil liberties campaigners and some members of Prime Minister Gordon Brown's Labour Party, declared it a "humiliating retreat" and a victory for individual rights.

Earlier Monday, peers in the unelected upper chamber of parliament defeated the move by 309 votes to 118. In June, the 42-day measure scraped through the House of Commons by just nine votes after a rebellion by 36 Labour lawmakers.

Speaking to lawmakers afterwards, Smith said Britain faced a "severe" threat and accused opponents of being "prepared to ignore the terrorist threat for fear of taking tough but necessary decisions".

"My priority remains the protection of the British people. I do not believe, as some MPs clearly do, that it is enough simply to cross our fingers and hope for the best," the minister said.

"That is not good enough because when it comes to national security, there are certain risks I'm not prepared to take.

"I am not prepared to risk leaving the British people without the protections they need."

As a result, a new bill had been drawn up which could be put to parliament "if and when the need arises", she said. It would enable the chief prosecutor to apply to a judge to hold suspected extremists for a maximum of 42 days.

Opposition parties welcomed what they saw as a defeat for the government, and strongly rejected Smith's claims they were a soft touch.

"We on this side of the House are perfectly prepared to be firm on terrorism, to take resolute measures and, if necessary, pass difficult bills," said Dominic Grieve, home affairs spokesman for the main opposition Conservatives.

"But they have to be credible, they have to be based on evidence and they must not be put forward in a way that smacks of mere political posturing and gimmicks."

Chris Huhne, a lawmaker with the smaller opposition Liberal Democrats, said the government was in "humiliating retreat", adding: "These excessive powers were a dagger thrust to our hard-won liberties."

Rights groups also welcomed the decision. Shami Chakrabarti, director of campaign group Liberty that had lobbied hard against the plan, said: "Common decency says we don't lock people up for six weeks without charge."

The pre-charge detention time limit was increased from 14 to 28 days by Brown's predecessor Tony Blair in the wake of the July 2005 London suicide attacks which killed 56 people, including four bombers.

At that stage, Blair's government was defeated in a bid to introduce 90-day detention without charge and 28 days was a compromise measure.