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The Secretary of State for the Home Department (Mrs Theresa May)
Section 14(1) of the Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005 (the 2005 Act) requires the Secretary of State to report to Parliament as soon as reasonably practicable after the end of every relevant three-month period on the exercise of the control order powers during that period. Paragraph 5 of schedule 8 to the Terrorism Prevention and Investigation Measures Act 2011 (the 2011 Act) requires the Secretary of State to report to Parliament covering the period that begins immediately after the end of the last three-month period and ends immediately before commencement.
The level of information provided will always be subject to slight variations based on operational advice. This report covers both reporting periods.
The transition to TPIMs
The 2011 Act commenced on 15 December 2011. A copy of the Act can be found on Parliament’s website. The home page for the Act is:
www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2011/23/contents/enacted.
The 2005 Act has now been repealed but the control orders in force at the time of commencement of the 2011 Act will remain in effect for a 42-day transitional period concluding on 25 January 2012 unless revoked before then. This is to allow for an orderly, managed and—above all—safe transition to the new system.
The exercise of the control order powers in the relevant periods
As explained in previous quarterly statements, control order obligations are tailored to the individual concerned and are based on the terrorism-related risk that individual poses. Each control order is kept under regular review to ensure that the obligations remain necessary and proportionate. The Home Office continues to hold Control Order Review Groups (CORGs) every quarter, with representation from law enforcement and intelligence agencies, to keep the obligations in every control order under regular and formal review and to facilitate a review of appropriate exit strategies. During the reporting periods, two CORGs were held in relation to the control orders in force at the time. Other meetings were held on an ad hoc basis as specific issues arose.
During the period 11 September 2011 to 10 December 2011, no non-derogating control orders were made or served. Two control orders were revoked during this period and two control orders have been renewed in accordance with section 2(6) of the 2005 Act. No non-derogating control orders were made, served, revoked or renewed during the period 11 December 2011 to 14 December 2011.
In total, as of 10 and 14 December, there were nine control orders in force, all of which were in respect of British citizens. All of these control orders were non-derogating.
Two individuals were charged with breaching their control order obligations during this period. One further individual was acquitted of two counts of breaching a control order; the jury failed to return a verdict on the remaining 13 counts against the same individual.
During the period 11 September 2011 to 10 December 2011, 76 modifications of control order obligations were made. Nineteen requests to modify control order obligations were refused. No further modifications were made or requests refused during the period 11 December 2011 to 14 December 2011.
Section 10(1) of the 2005 Act provides a right of appeal against a decision by the Secretary of State to renew a non-derogating control order or to modify an obligation imposed by a non-derogating control order without consent. Two appeals have been lodged with the High Court during this reporting period under section 10(1). A right of appeal is also provided by section 10(3) of the 2005 Act against a decision by the Secretary of State to refuse a request by a controlled person to revoke their order or to modify any obligation under their order. During this reporting period one appeal was lodged with the High Court under section 10(3), and then withdrawn.
One judgment has been handed down by the High Court during this reporting period in relation to a control order case.
On 3 October 2011, the High Court handed down a judgment in relation to five appeals brought by a controlled individual under section 10(3) of the 2005 Act. In AM v. Secretary of State for the Home Department [2011] EWHC 2486 (Admin) the High Court upheld the Secretary of State’s decisions.
Most open judgments are available at http://www.bailii.org/.