CokeZero
12-11-2006, 06:41 PM
The 28-day limit on detaining terrorist suspects before they are charged should only be extended if there is "credible evidence" to do so, the Conservative Party has said.
Gordon Brown has backed calls from Sir Ian Blair, Britain's top police officer, to toughen anti-terror powers and agreed with him that the current detention limit needed extending.
But shadow attorney general Dominic Grieve criticised Labour's "knee-jerk" responses to warnings of an increased terror threat and called for detailed explanations as to why the limit should be changed.
Mr Grieve told BBC Radio Four's World This Weekend programme: "If there is credible evidence that an extension is needed, we will consider that pragmatically."
It had to be remembered that every extension "subtly" undermined some of the country's principles and values and that tackling terrorism was also a "hearts and minds battle", he added.
Shadow home secretary David Davis said earlier that he would not categorically rule out backing an extension on the detention limit but again wanted solid evidence before doing so.
Government plans to extend to 90 days the time police could hold terror suspects without charge led to Tony Blair suffering his first Commons defeat as prime minister in November 2005. Some 49 of his own MPs rebelled to oppose the 90-day limit and a compromise was eventually agreed to extend it to 28 days instead, doubling it from the previous 14 days.
The Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Ian Blair said in a speech that he believed an extension would have to be "examined again in the near future".
Gordon Brown backed him in an interview with the Sunday Times, saying: "I completely agree with him. Given the scale of the threat we face, we must give the security service and police not just the resources they need but the powers they need to gather securely the evidence and use that evidence to gain convictions."
The Chancellor declared protecting the country from terrorism would be his "first priority" as Prime Minister and dismissed Tory calls for a dedicated cabinet security minister
Gordon Brown has backed calls from Sir Ian Blair, Britain's top police officer, to toughen anti-terror powers and agreed with him that the current detention limit needed extending.
But shadow attorney general Dominic Grieve criticised Labour's "knee-jerk" responses to warnings of an increased terror threat and called for detailed explanations as to why the limit should be changed.
Mr Grieve told BBC Radio Four's World This Weekend programme: "If there is credible evidence that an extension is needed, we will consider that pragmatically."
It had to be remembered that every extension "subtly" undermined some of the country's principles and values and that tackling terrorism was also a "hearts and minds battle", he added.
Shadow home secretary David Davis said earlier that he would not categorically rule out backing an extension on the detention limit but again wanted solid evidence before doing so.
Government plans to extend to 90 days the time police could hold terror suspects without charge led to Tony Blair suffering his first Commons defeat as prime minister in November 2005. Some 49 of his own MPs rebelled to oppose the 90-day limit and a compromise was eventually agreed to extend it to 28 days instead, doubling it from the previous 14 days.
The Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Ian Blair said in a speech that he believed an extension would have to be "examined again in the near future".
Gordon Brown backed him in an interview with the Sunday Times, saying: "I completely agree with him. Given the scale of the threat we face, we must give the security service and police not just the resources they need but the powers they need to gather securely the evidence and use that evidence to gain convictions."
The Chancellor declared protecting the country from terrorism would be his "first priority" as Prime Minister and dismissed Tory calls for a dedicated cabinet security minister