John Wadham, director of Liberty:

"It's vitally important that people who arrive in Britain are treated fairly and that those who are likely to be persecuted in other countries are protected, and not put on the first plane back. Asylum seekers' experience of the system shows how necessary it is that there are adequate safeguards - and judicial review is an essential part of that process. "It's hard for politicians always to protect the minority from the majority when they need the majority's votes to be re-elected; that's why we have human rights and judges, to ensure that in times of panic and fear, impartiality and fairness survive for everyone.

Extradition - "We have no objection to speeding up the process, as long as standards are maintained. Before people - who after all may well be innocent - are taken away from their homes to a foreign prison, under foreign laws, our British courts should continue to be able to assess the strength of evidence against a person".

Religious hatred: "Protecting Moslems and others from attacks requires leadership from our politicians and needs to be more of a priority for the police.

"There are already laws which could be better used to protect all of our communities. Given the discrimination that exists in the police and criminal justice system and in the current climate it is more likely that Moslems will be prosecuted than those who vilify them.

"What we need is stronger anti-discrimination laws to protect that will prevent anyone from being sacked or harassed on the grounds of religion alone not more criminal offences."

(other points)
- Sharing information with our European partners needs rigorous 'quality controls' - on how information is gathered, shared and disseminated etc; these do not exist at present.

- It's not at all clear how it will be determined who is a 'terrorist suspect' to be turned back at the airport gate, and who will make this decision.

- We welcome the intention to dispel the "pall of suspicion" hanging over everyone who reaches these shores - but wait to see the detail. Also the guarantee to end the use of prison cells for asylum-seekers- as Mr Blunkett says, it is a scandal.