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Civil orders 'will curb terrorism'
Apparently you can 'curb' terrorism in the same way you 'curb' vandalism and noisy neighbours: ASBOs for would-be terrorists. Ooh, that's tough. Game's up, bad guys!New civil orders could be used to restrict the activities of people suspected of planning terrorist acts, David Blunkett, the Home Secretary, said yesterday. He said the proposed orders - similar to current anti-social behaviour orders - could be imposed on individuals who had not committed an offence but were suspected of "acts preparatory to terrorism". Interviewed on ITV's Jonathan Dimbleby programme, he said that breach of such orders would be a criminal offence which could result in imprisonment. "We'd be able to use civil orders, like anti-social behaviour orders, to say, 'If you step outside what we've precluded you from doing, if you actually, for instance, use this particular banking network, if you, for instance, use the internet and we can identify you've done it, then we can move you from the civil into the criminal law', and then we can use the normal criminal justice process," he said. Mr Blunkett said such orders could be used against those who were raising funds or acting as "runners" for terrorist organisations. He confirmed that he was considering the introduction of special terrorism trials with judges sitting without a jury. Legislation would not be introduced until there had been a judgment from the House of Lords on the Government's powers to hold foreign terrorist suspects without trial. "It's not my intention to try to push a Bill through this side of the general election, whenever the Prime Minister calls it," he said. Posted by: Bulldog 2004-11-22 |
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