Politics.co.uk

Blair defends terror control orders

Blair defends terror control orders

Tony Blair has strongly defended the Government’s proposals to introduce control orders to restrict the activities of terrorist suspects.

Speaking in the House of Commons during Prime Minister’s Question Time this lunchtime, Mr Blair told MPs there is a “balance to be struck in protecting our way of life and protecting our citizens”.

But opposition to the plans is growing with both Michael Howard and Charles Kennedy calling on the Government to find another way.

Last year the Law Lords ruled that detaining foreign terror suspects indefinitely without charge or trial breached the UK’s human rights obligations. In response, Home Secretary Charles Clarke told the House of Commons that the Government was proposing to introduce new “control orders”.

These could see foreign and domestic suspects forced to remain in one location, not use the internet or other communications equipment and not meet with certain named individuals. They would not be tried or charged, though the Government insists that prosecution remains their preferred option whenever there is evidence that can be used in open court.

But both the Liberal Democrats and the Conservatives are tabling alternative plans that would involve the use of intercept evidence.

At PMQs Mr Howard urged the Prime Minister to adopt a multi-party approach to the question, “look carefully” at the Tories’ alternative proposals and meet him to discuss the plans, which Mr Howard said would “protect life, but also our way of life”.

Mr Blair promised to meet Mr Howard, but said that a sticking point over their plans might be the idea that secret surveillance evidence should be used in court – something the Government had previously ruled out.

The Prime Minister claimed that using intercept evidence in court could compromise sources of intelligence.

And he stressed that only 17 foreign nationals had been detained under the legislation – against a possible death toll of hundreds or thousands if terrorists attacks had been carried out.

Liberal Democrat leader Mr Kennedy also demanded change, saying that it should be for a judge, not a politician, to decide whether individuals were imprisoned.

He argued that plans for indefinite detention or restriction breached a citizen’s fundamental rights and suggested that a new offence of planning acts of terrorism should be created.

In cases where this was not sufficient, he claimed that the new powers should be administered by judges, not the Home Secretary.

Mr Blair though said that creating a new offence had been dismissed as it “simply wouldn’t work”.