LONDON - Powers to hold terrorist suspects without charge for 28 days might need to be extended in the future, although not to the 90 days police want, MPs said on Monday. But the all-party Home Affairs Committee argued such a move had to be handled tactfully to avoid upsetting British Muslims -- already complaining of feeling under siege -- and should not be introduced by the back door of secondary legislation.| Mustn't upset the darlins', they might start killing MPs. |
“We are convinced that the nature of the threat has changed, and so therefore has the response,” said committee chairman and Labour parliamentarian John Denham. “Earlier arrest, which means longer detention, is serving an important new function in disrupting and preventing terrorism.”
Endorsing the 28-day pre-charge detention period but rejecting the 90-day proposal, the committee said any extension would have to be carefully considered by an independent body and that each case must be scrutinised.
| Which is another way of saying that they don't have the stones to implement the change. |
| Because the lefties in Labour see the U.S. as a bigger threat than the Islamicists, despite the 7/7 bombing. |
He also rejected criticism from the committee that the government had been ill prepared when it proposed the 90-day law and that it had never critically examined the case made by the police in the wake of the July 7 attacks. “On an issue like this, the trust and confidence of the public and the Muslim community specifically is absolutely crucial. We cannot afford divisive arguments,” Denham said.
“Any new legislation should not propose longer than 28 days’ detention unless the evidence is compelling, and we propose a new independent body to keep this under review,” he added.
The committee proposed that banned telephone tap evidence should be allowed in terrorism cases, and that in cases where preventative measures were necessary but charges not possible other avenues should be explored. It supported the use of control orders, tagging and bail to disrupt conspiracies and protect the public.