Cuddly John Reid's new anti-terror plans

Gilps · June 7, 2007

Reid outlines anti-terror plans

Mr Reid wants to get cross-party consensus

Home Secretary John Reid has outlined a raft of proposals to toughen counter terror laws - including reviewing the 28-day limit on pre-charge detention.

He said he wanted cross-party agreement on the measures, which also include a law change to allow terrorist suspects to be questioned after being charged.

Plans also include a sex offender-style terrorist register, and a review into courts using intercept evidence.

But MPs were told "stop and question" powers were not among current plans.

The measures are in a three-page discussion document rather than a draft bill because Mr Reid said he wanted to get cross-party support before announcing more concrete measures.

"I'm sure that of the range of measures that I'll introduce today, there will be many on which, given the recognition of the level of the threat, that there will in fact be cross-party support," he had earlier told BBC One's Breakfast.

"On other ones, where there'll be more controversial views, and wider views, I'm hoping that the process I'm introducing, which is slightly different from what I've done before, will maximise the degree of support that we get."

Moves scuppered

Mr Reid came under fire in May after three more suspects on control orders absconded.

And he has blamed courts and opposition parties for scuppering previous moves to get tougher laws.

Attempts to extend the period for which suspects can be held to 90 days ended in Prime Minister Tony Blair's first Commons defeat in 2005.

Chancellor Gordon Brown, who will succeed Mr Blair within weeks, has said he wants to look again at extending the current 28-day limit.

Intercept evidence

The government's independent reviewer of anti-terrorism legislation, Lib Dem peer Lord Carlile, reiterated his support for extending detention without charge beyond 28 days.

"I can imagine that there may well come to be cases - and I'm not saying that there have been any yet - in which the need to protect evidence, to discover what the evidence is, to de-encrypt computers, to find people may not be achieved within 28 days.

"At last we're having a proper consultation on this," he said on BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

Next week, MPs will debate an amendment to a bill, approved by the House of Lords, which would allow telephone intercept evidence to be used in court.

And it is thought Mr Reid will say that he is to ask a committee of Privy councillors to review the issue.

Lord Carlile said it was appropriate to allow telephone intercept evidence in court, but warned that it was "not a cure-all".

"Having seen a lot of closed information, it is my opinion that intercept evidence might be useful in a small number of terrorism cases. It could prove very useful in relation to other very serious crimes and should be available for that too."

He also supported a register of convicted terrorists, similar to the existing register for sex offenders, describing it as a "sensible" proposal.

British liberties

Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman Nick Clegg said his party would co-operate with the other parties, but "not at any cost".

He insisted that maintaining a balance between "customary British liberties" and the new measures was essential and said he would not back an extension of the 28-day detention period.

"There is simply no evidence that it has been needed," he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

BBC Home Affairs correspondent Danny Shaw said the Liberal Democrats were concerned that announcing a privy council review could be a way of kicking the issue into the long grass.

The privy council is an advisory body made up of past and present members of the government.

Conservative Patrick Mercer, who used to be the party's homeland security spokesman, said he was concerned about extending detention.

"We coped with Nazism, we coped with the cold war, we coped with Irish republicanism with seven days detention. That was all.

"Then we went to 14 days, now we've got 28 days. If these people are innocent, when they are released they will become the most powerful public relations, black propaganda - call it what you like - recruiting tool for our enemies. That really, really concerns me."

There has already been criticism of reported proposals to allow police to stop and question anyone in the UK about their identity and movements - similar to those in Northern Ireland - amid concerns about civil liberties.

June 7, 2007

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