Draft Terrorism Prevention and Investigation Measures Act 2011 (Continuation) Order 2026

Blake Stephenson Excerpts

Wednesday 4th November 2026 General Committees

[Blake Stephenson (Mid Bedfordshire) (Con)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Twigg. I thank the Minister for her comments and for extending the powers set out in the 2011 Act.

Protecting our country from terrorism is a central responsibility of Government. The public deserve to be safe from these heinous acts. Our commemorations this year marking 25 years since the 11 September attacks—the deadliest terrorist attack for British citizens in our history—should serve as a constant reminder of this solemn duty. Every attack, whether it is the Manchester Arena bombing, Lockerbie, 7/7, Omagh or an array of other dreadful attacks, should prompt us to pay tribute to all those who have lost their lives in the service of our country by dedicating ourselves to preventing such atrocities from happening again. [Interruption.]

[The Chair]

Order. The sitting is now suspended. I shall resume the Chair at 2.50 pm.

--- Later in debate ---

On resuming—

[Blake Stephenson]

Stopping terrorism underpins everything we do in this place, as those who seek to alter our politics using violence fuelled by hateful ideology cannot be allowed to operate in our country. As the head of MI5 recently stated,

“The protection of democracy—its institutions, its representatives, its principles—has never felt more vital.”

While we look back, the past year is a reminder of the threat posed by terrorism at this very moment. The decision to raise the threat level to “severe” followed intelligence assessments and appalling attacks against members of our Jewish communities. I will be cautious about referencing specific recent cases that have involved people being charged and hostile states. However, to use just one example, earlier this year two Islamist extremists received life sentences, and a third received a prison sentence, for their role in a terrorist plot intended to target the Jewish community in Greater Manchester, which was foiled through the outstanding work of our police forces.

Against that background, I can say with certainty that we agree with the continuing use of the powers. They are serious powers, as the Minister said, and ones that must be used appropriately. When the renewal period for TPIMs was instituted, the late Conservative Minister James Brokenshire rightly noted the safeguards that the House continues to put in place when voting to renew the powers, but also recognised that they were sadly likely to continue to be necessary for the foreseeable future. Unfortunately, those comments remain accurate today.

These are serious, restrictive powers available to the Government. Therefore, I understand that they are rightly used sparingly as a tool of last resort, as the Minister outlined. According to the independent reviewer of terrorism legislation’s previous report, TPIMs were applied only 33 times between the introduction of the Act in 2011 and 2024, with only four active applications in the last quarter. While I would not want to ask the Minister to comment on specific cases, do the Government need to take a different approach given the increase in the terrorism threat level to our country?

As with all powers, some questions remain, including those arising from previous comments by the independent reviewer of terrorism legislation that were noted by the Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee. However, we must equally listen to the previous assessment of the independent reviewer, alongside the views of the Investigatory Powers Commissioner and the director general of the Security Service, all of whom have agreed that TPIM powers should be renewed.

When the renewal order for the powers was brought forward in 2021, the then Opposition rightly supported the Government’s efforts. Our support therefore continues in the same vein, recognising that it is imperative for all of us to ensure that the resources and powers necessary to protect the public are in place.