Trigger-happy detention

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While I welcome the home secretary's proposed amendments to provide new safeguards on 42-day detention, they do not answer the key issue: that the government has not yet made a case based on any evidence that an extension beyond the current 28-day maximum is necessary. We have heard general assertions but no hard facts. It is interesting to note that while the director of MI5 was prepared to speak to the Society of Newspaper Editors about the level of the terrorist threat, he has not been prepared to speak to a parliamentary committee and answer MPs' questions on the issue.

The redefined "trigger" for the new power to extend detention to a maximum of 42 days is too broad. While the government talks of exceptional cases such as "two 9/11s on one day", or a "substantial threat against the nation", the actual wording of the government amendments provides a far lower threshold. Parliamentary approval of the home secretary's order within seven instead of 30 days still means that any debate in parliament will be inevitably be very restricted because of the risk of prejudicing future trials. While this new reserve 42-day power will be available for reduced periods of 30 days from 60, this is not so significant because the power can be continuously and indefinitely renewed.

Moreover, the government has not proposed any additional judicial safeguards for arbitrary detention of suspects, such as informing the suspect of the gist of the case against them and allowing them to be fully represented. While the government has talked of a major emergency, the "nightmare scenario" of simultaneous plots across Britain or two 9/11s at once, the amendments the government have tabled provide for possible events falling well short of that, including overseas. I do not underestimate the seriousness of the terrorist threat, but in the case of a genuine "emergency threatening the life of the nation", the law already provides the right to derogate (that is disapply) the right to liberty. The counter-terrorism bill could be used as an opportunity to codify the necessary safeguards to ensure that this is done properly.

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