Parliamentary committee criticises 42 day detention
In a report released today the Joint Committee on Human Rights (JCHR) reinforces its criticism of the Government's proposal to extend the maximum pre-charge detention period for terrorism suspects from 28 to 42 days
In a report last December the Committee rejected the proposals put forward by the Government. The Committee said no evidence of the need for the change had been put forward: that there were other, more proportionate, ways of achieving the Government's aim of protecting the public from terrorism, and the safeguards against it being used arbitrarily were inadequate. The final proposals in the Bill are substantially the same. The Committee still considers that a maximum pre-charge detention period of up to 42 days is unnecessary, disproportionate, and the existing judicial and proposed parliamentary safeguards are not adequate.
Chair of the Committee Andrew Dismore MP said: "My Committee remains unconvinced the Government's case to extend pre-charge detention to a maximum of 42 days. The evidence demonstrated a consensus against the proposal. The Director of Public Prosecutions and the Chief CPS Prosecutor for terrorist cases both confirmed that the 28 day limit had proved adequate.
"We believe that a package of alternative measures obviates the need for any extension: post charge questioning, use of intercept evidence in court and the threshold charging test together with the new broad offence of 'acts preparatory to terrorism' all combine to produce a sensible and proportionate alternative that would protect the public and help ensure that community relations are not damaged by ever more Draconian laws."
