LONDON, Dec 14 (KUNA) — The British Government’s controversial anti-terror plans came under sustained attack from MPs and peers here Friday.
Two separate Parliamentary committees criticised British Home Secretary Jacqui Smith’s proposal to extend the time limit on detaining terror suspects from 28 to 42 days.
The UK Joint Committee on Human Rights (JCHR) demanded that the measures should be withdrawn.
Yesterday, the House of Commons Home Affairs Committee said neither police nor the Government had proved the case for an extension.
Smith’s proposals would involve the House of Commons and the House of Lords approving a temporary extension to 42 days.
But the JCHR said this would be “virtually useless as a safeguard” and would also run the risk of seriously prejudicing any future criminal trials of suspects being questioned at the time.
The Home Secretary said she will look carefully at the recommendations the JCHR has made.
She told the BBC, “I will continue to seek Parliamentary consensus on the Government’s proposals.
“These include a temporary extension in exceptional circumstances of the maximum limit of pre-charge detention, subject to the right Parliamentary and judicial oversight.
“I have not been convinced that measures on post-charge questioning and the use of intercept as evidence would in themselves be sufficient.
“As the Home Affairs Committee has recognised, the threat facing the UK is real and acute. As Home Secretary I am not willing to leave this potential risk to the security of the British people unaddressed,” Smith added.
Members of the Home Affairs Committee said the Muslim community could come to regard the rules as a form of internment if ministers failed to prove why a longer period is required.
It could be counter-productive to raise the maximum time for which police can hold and question suspects, the report said.
Alternative changes to the law could make it easier to bring prosecutions and avoid the need to raise the limit, it added.
For example, the committee said it was “ridiculous” that Britain still bars the use of evidence from telephone taps and other bugs, known as “intercept” evidence.
The all-party committee said the Government should begin urgent discussions to reform existing powers, under the Civil Contingencies Act, which could bring about a temporary extension of pre-charge limits.