Counter-Terrorism and Border Security Bill

Legal background

9 The principal enactments relating to countering terrorism are the Terrorism Act 2000 ("the 2000 Act"), the Terrorism Act 2006 ("the 2006 Act"), the Counter-Terrorism Act 2008 ("the 2008 Act"), the Terrorism Asset-Freezing etc Act 2010, the Terrorism Prevention and Investigation Measures Act 2011 ("the 2011 Act") and the Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015 ("the 2015 Act").

10 Amongst other things, the 2000 Act:

● Provides for a definition of "terrorism" (section 1);

● Provides a power for the Secretary of State to proscribe organisations that are concerned in terrorism and sets out associated offences (Part 2);

· Provides the police with powers to arrest and detain suspected terrorists, and powers to search premises, vehicles and pedestrians (Part 5). Schedule 7 provides examination powers at ports and borders; and Schedule 8 provides for the treatment of suspects who are detained (including the taking and retention of fingerprints and DNA samples and profiles) and for judicial extension of the initial period of detention.

● Provides for various terrorism offences (sections 54 to 63), including the collection of information likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism (section 58) and eliciting, publishing or communicating information about members of the armed forces etc (section 58A), and for the UK courts to have jurisdiction in respect of certain terrorism offences committed abroad by UK nationals or residents (sections 63A to 63E).

11 Provisions in the 2006 Act relevant to this Bill include:

● Further terrorism-related offences, including encouragement of terrorism (section 1) and dissemination of terrorism publications (section 2);

● A duty on the Secretary of State to appoint a person to review the provisions of the 2000 Act and Part 1 of the 2006 Act 1 . The current Independent Reviewer of Terrorism Legislation, Max Hill QC, took up his post on 1 March 2017.

12 Amongst other things, the 2008 Act:

● Provides for a court, when sentencing an offender convicted under the general criminal law, to treat a terrorist connection as an aggravating factor (sections 30 to 33);

● Makes provision about the notification of information to the police by certain individuals convicted of terrorism or terrorism-related offences (Part 4).

13 The Terrorism Asset-Freezing etc Act 2010 seeks to prevent the financing of terrorist acts by imposing financial restrictions on, and in relation to, certain persons believed to be, or to have been, involved in terrorist activities. The Terrorism Asset-Freezing etc Act 2010 is not amended by this Bill.

14 The 2011 Act confers powers on the Secretary of State to impose specified terrorism prevention and investigation measures on an individual.

15 The 2015 Act includes provision:

● Enabling the Secretary of State to make a temporary exclusion order to disrupt and control the return to the UK of a British citizen reasonably suspected of involvement of terrorism activity abroad (Part 1, Chapter 2);

● Requiring specified bodies (including local authorities, chief officers of police, schools and universities and NHS organisations) to have regard, in the exercise of their functions, to the need to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism (Part 5, Chapter 1). Local authorities are further required to have a panel to provide support for people vulnerable to being drawn into terrorism (Part 5, Chapter 2).

16 This Bill also amends the following legislation:

● The Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 ("the 1984 Act"), sections 22C and 22D of which makes provision for Anti-Terrorism Traffic Regulation Orders ("ATTROs") under which vehicle or pedestrian traffic can be restricted for counter-terrorism reasons.

● Part 5 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 ("PACE"), Part 6 of the Police and Criminal Evidence (Northern Ireland) Order 1989, Part 2 of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995 ("the 1995 Act") and Chapter 1 of Part 1 of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 which make provision for the taking, retention and destruction of fingerprints, DNA samples and the profiles derived from such samples. Further such provision is made in Schedule 8 to the 2000 Act, Part 1 of the 2008 Act and Schedule 6 to the 2011 Act.

● Part 12 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 ("the 2003 Act") which, amongst other things, enables a criminal court, in England and Wales, to impose an extended sentence of imprisonment on a sex or violent offender when certain conditions are met (sections 226A and 226B) or a special custodial sentence for certain offenders of particular concern (section 236A).

● Part 11 of the 1995 Act which, amongst other things, enables a criminal court, in Scotland, to impose an extended sentence on a sex or violent offender when certain conditions are met (sections 210A).

● Part 2 of the Criminal Justice (Northern Ireland) Order 2008 ("the 2008 Order") which, amongst other things, enables a criminal court, in Northern Ireland, to impose an extended custodial sentence on a sex or violent offender when certain conditions are met (Article 14).

● Part 1 of the Serious Crime Act 2007 which makes provision for Serious Crime Prevention Orders ("SCPOs"). These orders are intended to be used against those involved in serious crime, with the terms attached to an order designed to protect the public by preventing, restricting or disrupting involvement in serious crime.

● The Reinsurance (Acts of Terrorism) Act 1993 ("the 1993 Act") which authorises the payment of money provided by Parliament to enable the HM Treasury to act as reinsurer of last resort in respect of insurance for damage to commercial property arising from acts of terrorism.