“One minute the Home Secretary spoke about “values and rights” - but she shredded ancient liberties the next. Today’s debate will show the public that the Commons can still be a House of principle and cross-party consensus. All the spin about so-called safeguards has failed to soften up those who know the counter-productivity of detaining potentially innocent people for six weeks on suspicion alone.”
MPs are likely to vote on the proposals in the Counter-Terrorism Bill in late May or early June.
Contact: Jen Corlew on 0207 378 3656 or 0797 3 831 128 NOTES TO EDITORS:
1. For a copy of Liberty’s two briefings on the Second Reading of the Counter-Terrorism Bill or Liberty’s short briefing, “Understanding the pre-charge detention debate” contact
jenc@liberty-human-rights.org.uk2. Flaws in the Government’s proposal to extend pre-charge detention include:
● on/off powers for the Home Secretary to extend pre-charge detention in individual cases to 42 days based on an “operational need” rather than a terror emergency
● weak and irresponsible Parliamentary oversight which would make MPs powerless for the first 30 days but then subsequently allow them to vote on individual cases, jeopardising future prosecutions
● courts will not be able to review the decision to extend pre-charge detention to 42 days
3. Liberty suggests the following counter-terror proposals be pursued instead of extending pre-charge detention:
- Remove the bar on the use of intercept (phone tap) evidence because its inadmissibility is a major factor in being unable to bring charges in terror cases. Liberty calls for the Privy Council review’s findings on intercept evidence to be implemented before the Government considers extending pre-charge detention.
- Allow post-charge questioning in terror cases provided that the initial charge is legitimate and there is judicial oversight. This will allow for a charge to be supplemented with further offences at a later stage. Current proposals in the Counter-terrorism Bill do not include judicial safeguards and do not allow police to question suspects about other offences after being charged. See Liberty’s Counter-Terrorism Briefing for Second Reading here.
- Hire more interpreters: Prioritise the hiring of more foreign language interpreters to expedite pre-charge questioning and other procedures.
- Add resources: More resources for police and intelligence services.
- Emergency measures in the Civil Contingencies Act 2004 could already be triggered in a genuine emergency in which the police are overwhelmed by multiple terror plots, allowing the Government to temporarily extend pre-charge detention subject to Parliamentary and judicial oversight. Safeguards offered by Government today offer far less protection than that offered in the Civil Contingencies Act.
4. YouGov poll results commissioned by Liberty found that only 13 percent of people agreed that the time limit for holding suspects without charge should be raised from 28 to 42 days while 54 percent of people believe the Government’s motivation for the proposals is to “look tough on terror.”
5. In an advert to run nationally today, Liberty will expose the growing opposition to extending pre-charge detention including the Director of Public Prosecutions, the General Synod, former Chief Constable Geoffrey Dear, each of the London mayoral candidates and the UK’s largest trade union UNITE.
6. Liberty’s “Charge or Release” campaign has the support of international luminaries including the Archbishop Desmond Tutu, political activist Noam Chomsky, Pakistan’s Human Rights Commissioner Asma Jahangir, designer Vivienne Westwood, and American Civil Liberties Union Director Anthony Romero. Find out more about the Real Consensus.
7. In December 2007 Liberty formally launched its “Charge or Release” campaign to stop Government plans to extend the period terror suspects are held without charge. Liberty is mobilising its members, the public and politicians to oppose any extension beyond the current 28-day detention period, which is nearly four times longer than that of most comparable democracies. Liberty’s “Charge or Release” campaign adverts which compare pre-charge detention periods in 15 democracies has run in national newspapers and been displayed on billboards across London. See www.chargeorrelease.com for more information.
8. On 12 November 2007, Liberty released a comprehensive study of terrorist pre-charge detention powers in 15 countries, including the United States, Spain, Russia, France and Turkey. Liberty’s International Charge or Release Study, based on advice and assistance from lawyers and academics around the world, demonstrates that the existing 28-day limit already far exceeds equivalent limits in other comparable democracies. In countries that do not have the exact concept of “pre-charge detention”, like France and Germany, lawyers qualified in those jurisdictions have identified the closest equivalent.
