Counterterrorism Review

Earl Attlee Excerpts

Wednesday 26th January 2011 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Neville-Jones]

My Lords, one reason why the Government were determined to deal with control orders before they even came into office was precisely because of our perception that they were damaging to community relations. In the evidence and the responses to questionnaires and surveys, stop and search comes up quite as often as a source of grievance, if not more so, than control orders, but the Government accept that they were harmful. The Government respect the role of the judiciary, which is one reason why we are bringing this regime into line with what we believe is legally acceptable.

On the question of the number of days needed to bring a successful prosecution, I have not asked ACPO the specific question posed by the noble and learned Lord. However, like the rest of us, ACPO has learnt from experience about the time needed in practice to bring successful charges, and made it absolutely clear to the Home Secretary—as indeed have the intelligence and security services—that it is content with the proposals.

[Earl Attlee]

My Lords, I remind the House of the benefit of short questions so that my noble friend can answer as many noble Lords as she can.

[Baroness Hamwee]

My Lords, I am happy to give a general welcome to the Statement. In confirming that this is not a mere rebranding of control orders, will the noble Baroness point to requiring the permission of the High Court, which seems to take us into a completely different legal structure? I suspect that many of us will wish to explore the evidential test that she mentioned and whether we can move towards a criminal test beyond reasonable doubt. Will she and her officials continue to work actively on that? Secondly, does she agree that arrangements that enable a person subject to the measure to work or study are very significant indeed? That control was extremely offensive.

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[Lord West of Spithead]

My Lords—

[Earl Attlee]

My Lords, I think we should hear from the opposition Back Benches.

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[Lord Maginnis of Drumglass]

My Lords, can I thank—

[Earl Attlee]

My Lords, we have not yet had a Conservative Back-Bench question.

[Lord Howard of Lympne]

My Lords, I, too, congratulate my noble friend and, through her, the Home Secretary on striking the right balance in this very difficult area between the need to protect the public and the need to safeguard personal and individual liberty. May I ask about the emergency legislation to extend the period of pre-charge detention? Given what my noble friend has said about the Government’s ability to put that in place very quickly, do they intend this emergency power to be available not simply in a general period or emergency but for an individual suspect under detention, in respect of whom the police, and perhaps a magistrate or a judge, are convinced that a longer period of detention is necessary?

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[Lord Maginnis of Drumglass]

My Lords, can I thank the Minister—

[Earl Attlee]

My Lords, if we are quick we can get one more round in. I suggest Cross Bench, Liberal Democrat, Labour.

[Lord Blair of Boughton]

My Lords—

[Lord Maginnis of Drumglass]

My Lords, I suggest to the Minister—

[Earl Attlee]

My Lords, I suggest that we hear from the former Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police.

[Lord Blair of Boughton]

Thank you, my Lords. I need to declare an interest in that I was a former member of ACPO and of the police service in the metropolis. I thank the noble Baroness for the Statement. I merely carry on from the question raised by the noble Lord, Lord Howard, which is: how can Parliament legislate on the back of a police and Security Service operation? One reason why ACPO brought up the question of the length of detention in a period when we had no atrocity immediately before us was so that Parliament could debate it in an open atmosphere. I do not suggest that it cannot be done, but an enormous amount of thought has to be given to how both Houses of Parliament could decide that the situation had reached the point at which emergency legislation had to be brought in, particularly if it was not after an atrocity but merely because of a series of desperately significant operations going on. I do not understand how this House or the other place could debate that in the open.