Home Secretary Jacqui Smith has said that plans to extend terror detention to 42 days will be dropped from the Counter-Terrorism Bill.
This is of course great news. But the truth is Parliament should never had capitulated over 28 days in the first place. And it shouldn’t have moved up to 14 days. Frankly, if 48 hours was good enough to combat the IRA in the 80s, it is good enough now.
There are plenty of other safeguards. A reduction in detention without charge could be a one line private members’ bill and one which, if MPs are lobbied, we can win. I can only hope the civil liberties movement can work together to deliver it.
I’m with you all the way on this one.
It doesn’t even need to be a one line private members’ bill. The power is renewed once a year, it would just take a defeat on that resolution in one or the other House.
The next vote is in July 2009: http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2008/uksi_20081745_en_1