Lords examine terrorism bill
The government’s new terrorism bill will come under intense scrutiny today as it undergoes its second reading in the House of Lords.
Opposition peers have vowed to go “line-by-line” through the legislation, which would create new offences of encouraging terrorism and give police greater powers to deal with terrorist suspects.
Critics argue the new offence of encouragement would curb free speech, while plans to extend the time police can hold terrorist suspects without charge are also highly controversial.
The initial proposal to extend the current 14-day limit to 90 days was defeated in the Commons earlier this month, with MPs agreeing on a 28-day compromise.
This clause is now likely to pass the Lords intact, thanks to the support of the Conservatives.
“The Conservative party supported the 28-day amendment in the House of Commons and we will do the same thing in the House of Lords,” said Lord Strathclyde, Tory leader in the upper House.
His Lib Dem counterpart, Lord McNally, expressed reservations about the extension, but said he did not think there was a majority in the upper House to change it.
However, Lord Strathclyde added: “There is a tremendous responsibility on the House of Lords to look at this in a careful manner in the weeks ahead.”
While the issue of 90-day detention has been the most controversial, plans to make it an offence to encourage or glorify terrorism have also caused concern.
Academics fear these new offences will stifle debate and legitimate investigative research, as would plans to make it an offence to attend a terrorist training camp. Journalists have also expressed reservations about the impact this could have on investigative reporting.
Today, campaign group Human Rights Watch argues in a new report that the new offence of encouragement could have a “chilling effect on free expression in the classroom, the newsroom and the mosque”.
Meanwhile, reports suggest that the Association of Chief Police Officers (Acpo) – which was firmly in favour of extending the detention time to 90 days – has concerns about this encouragement offence, as well as plans to ban certain groups.
