By KUNA,
London : A British Home Office Minister Monday exhorted MPs to back extending detention without charge to 42 days amid growing signs the UK Government faces a damaging defeat on the issue.
Tony McNulty told BBC domestic radio concerns over the proposals to upgrade from a 28-day maximum were “reasonable”, but they (the extensins) were “proportionate” and would help with complex terrorism trials.
He insisted he was confident about steering the powers through Parliament, and stressed there was no intention of “locking people up and throwing away the key.” “I think (MPs) will buy it,” he said.
“Recently, myself and the Home Secretary (Mrs Jacqui Smith) have been speaking increasingly to people who have got some concerns about it and those concerns are reasonable.
“This is a very, very serious thing and I think once people understand the bulk of the model and the temporary nature, then people do buy it,” he added.
McNulty, minister for policing, security, and community safety, said the longer detention period would be used “utterly sparingly”, and Parliament would be required to renew the legislation on a regular basis.
“I would say to people quite candidly: look at the model, look at what we are trying to do, and I think it is a proportionate response to the situation, ” he pointed out.
Meanwhile, labour’s business managers are believed to have warned Prime Minister Gordon Brown that the Government could be defeated by around 30 votes in the House of Commons, with dozens of backbenchers, and even potentially some ministers, siding with the main opposition conservatives and the smaller opposition liberal democrats.
The Director of Public Prosecutions Sir Ken Macdonald is among a number of senior figures, including Security Minister Lord West and ex-Attorney General Lord Goldsmith, to have voiced misgivings about the plan.
Yesterday, the Home Secretary sought to bolster support for the proposals by stressing the scale of the terrorist threat Britain faces.
Under the measures, the Home Office would immediately be able to extend the limit to 42 days if a joint report by a Chief Constable and the Director of Public Prosecutions backed the move.
The House of Commons and the House of Lords would have to approve the extension within 30 days, and, if either House votes against it, the power would come to an end at midnight on the day of the debate.
The new limit would only be available to police for two months unless it is renewed and individual detentions over 28 days would need to be approved by a judge at least every seven days.
However, the way the proposed system is set up could mean suspects being held for 42 days, even if Parliament eventually refused permission.
Critics insist existing civil emergency laws could be invoked to extend the detention period if the situation became sufficiently serious.