Lord Goldsmith holds firm on peerages role

Lord Goldsmith has said he will not step aside from his role in the cash for peerages investigation, despite fears over a conflict of interest. The life peer’s position as attorney general means he should be consulted when prosecuting certain cases, including corruption, under the 1889 and 1906 Prevention of Corruption Acts. The final decision […]

Courts ‘struggling to cope’ with terror cases

The courts system is struggling to cope with the high number of suspected terrorists coming to trial, a senior prosecutor has warned. Sue Hemming, head of the Crown Prosecution Service’s (CPS’s) counter-terrorism branch, said there was currently a backlog of 34 terrorism trials, including 99 defendants. “I am not sure our courts were actually geared […]

Ministers deny return to 90-day detention

The home secretary has denied suggestions that he will try once again to introduce 90-day detention for terror suspects following last week’s alleged terror plot. John Reid said it was not a “good time” to divert energy into trying to force through the measure, which was rejected in the Commons last year. But he made […]

Human Rights Act has ‘positive and beneficial’ effect

The Human Rights Act “has not seriously impeded” the government’s attempts to tackle crime, terrorism or immigration, or put the public at risk, Lord Falconer said today. A review by the lord chancellor concludes that despite the “myths and misrepresentations” surrounding it, the legislation has generally had a “positive and beneficial impact” on the relationship […]

Lib Dems: Life sentence should mean life

The most dangerous criminals should be sentenced to life with no possibility for parole, the Liberal Democrats have said. Under plans launched by the party today, there would also be no automatic right to early release – the parole board would have discretion to say if an offender was still dangerous. The Lib Dems also […]

Blair urges communities to root out extremism

Tony Blair today said that moderate Muslims had a key role in defeating “the ideas” of Islamic extremism. The government cannot go in and root out extremism in the Muslim community, this was up to communities, he told senior MPs. It follows criticism from a prominent Muslim MP about the lack of progress made by […]

Ministers ‘forgetting rational debate’ in law and order

The government is in danger of acting uncritically on public fears about law and order, a leading criminologist has warned. Ian Loader, professor of criminology at Oxford university, says ministers appear to have lost confidence in their ability to “engage in a dialogue” with people on the controversial issues of immigration, prisons and sex offenders. […]

Falconer: We are committed to human rights

The government’s commitment to human rights is “long-lasting” and there is no question of repealing the Human Rights Act, Lord Falconer said today. The constitutional affairs secretary acknowledged concerns that the law appeared to give more support to offenders and immigrants than ‘ordinary’ people, but insisted the problem is “not the letter of the law, […]

Blair: Justice system still not working

The criminal justice system is still “distant from what most reasonable people want”, Tony Blair said today. The prime minister admitted that despite introducing dozens of pieces of criminal justice legislation since 1997, the system is still not as effective as it should be. “People want a society without prejudice but with rules – rules […]

Government to appeal Afghan hijacker ruling

The government has set itself up for a standoff with the judiciary after insisting a ruling allowing nine Afghan hijackers to stay in Britain was “inexplicable”. John Reid said the government would appeal yesterday’s high court decision that nine Afghan asylum seekers who hijacked a plane to fly them to Britain should be granted permanent […]