1 Introduction
1. On 27 June 2007 we announced that we would hold
a short inquiry into the Government's proposals for new counter-terrorism
legislation, as set out in the then Home Secretary's statement
to the House on 7 June.[1]
On 27 July we issued a further call for evidence, in the light
of the more detailed position papers issued by the Government
the previous day.
2. Much the most controversial of the Government's
proposals is that to extend the right of the police to detain
terrorism suspects without charge beyond the present limit of
28 days—itself agreed by Parliament less than two years
ago. In our short inquiry we therefore focussed particularly on
this proposal.
3. During October and November 2007 we took oral
evidence from the Metropolitan Police, the independent reviewer
of terrorism legislation (Lord Carlile of Berriew QC), representatives
of JUSTICE and Liberty, the Home Secretary, the Director General
of the Prison Service, the Governor of HM Prison Belmarsh, Mr
Mohammad Abdulkahar and Mr Abul Koyair (members of the public
who were arrested in the counter-terrorist operation in Forest
Gate in June 2006 and subsequently released without charge), Rachel
North (who was injured in the terrorist attacks in London on 7
July 2005), the Conservative and Liberal Democrat Shadow Home
Secretaries, Rt Hon Lord Goldsmith, QC (the former Attorney General)
and the Director of Public Prosecutions. We also met Mr Jonathan
Evans, Director General of the Security Service, whose views,
as expressed in his speech of 5 November 2007 to the Society of
Editors, have informed this Report. We received 21 written submissions.
We are grateful to all those who provided us with written or oral
evidence.
4. The Government announced in the Queen's Speech
on 6 November that it will bring forward legislation to strengthen
the law on terrorism. The Bill is expected to be introduced early
in 2008.
5. While we were considering this Report, the Home
Secretary announced on 6 December updated proposals for a 42-day
limit to pre-charge detention, amongst other things. We intend
to look at these proposals in detail once the Government has published
its Bill.
1 HC Deb, 7 June 2007, col 421-423 Back
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