History Forum / General / British History / July 2007

Gordon Brown seems to be no limp-wristed wimpy, wussy Labourite on these
issues.

IF these New Initiatives are pursued with vigour and actually come to
Fruition, that's a...

Good Show!

DSH

Lux et Veritas et Libertas

Deus Vult
----------------------------------------------

Brown sets out plan for tough new terror laws

· Judges to get more sentencing power
· PM-in-waiting takes on Labour left

Nicholas Watt, political editor
Sunday June 3, 2007
The Observer
Guardian Unlimited

Hardline anti-terror laws are to be proposed by Gordon Brown - including an
extension of the 28-day limit on detention without charge - as the
Chancellor sends a powerful signal that he will take a harder line on
terrorism than Tony Blair.

Excellent! [If Proven True] -- DSH

In an intensification of Brown's plans for Number 10, which follows
criticism that he has failed to flesh out his thoughts on terrorism, he will
call this week for a series of measures that will infuriate his party's left
wing.

Superb!  Infuriate Them Thoroughly. -- DSH

They are contrasted with a strong attack on the government's 'macho
posturing' on law and order by Peter Hain, the Northern Ireland Secretary,
who is standing for the Labour deputy leadership post. The Chancellor will
indicate that he has little time for the Hain approach when he calls for:
· An extension of the 28-day limit on detention without charge. Blair had
wanted to extend this to 90 days, but had to limit it to 28 after a Commons
revolt.

· Making terrorism an aggravating factor in sentencing, giving judges
greater powers to punish terrorism within the framework of the existing
criminal law.

· Ending the ban on questioning by police after a terrorist suspect has been
charged. This would be subject to judicial oversight to ensure that it is
correctly and sparingly used.

· Moving towards allowing evidence from telephone-tapping to be admissible
as evidence in court by holding a Privy Council review into whether the law
should be changed.

· Increasing the security budget, which has already doubled to more than
£2bn a year after 11 September 2001, in the forthcoming spending review when
a single security budget will be unveiled.

Brown signalled the changes yesterday when he appeared at a Labour party
hustings meeting in Glasgow. The Chancellor said: 'We must be vigilant for
the benefit of security in this country. Anti-terror methods must be more
sophisticated, with earlier intervention. That is why I support an increase
in the length of detention to build up evidence across nations and I support
post-charge questioning with an increase in police resources.'

Excellent!  Give the Police and other Law Enforcement Authorities MORE
powers -- NOT fewer. -- DSH

The incoming Prime Minister wants to show there will be no let-up in the
fight against terrorism and he is prepared to wrongfoot the Tories as they
question some of the government's harsher measures. But Brown will balance
his message by indicating that the government needs to do more to assure
people that civil liberties are not being trampled on. He believes that the
handling of detention without trial is a strong example.

The Chancellor believes it is possible to win support for increasing the
28-day limit if there is stronger judicial oversight of any decisions to
extend an individual's detention on a week-by-week basis and an annual
report to parliament on the use of the powers. But Brown believes there is a
need to extend detention because of the volume of international evidence
which accrues in such investigations, most of which can be difficult to
obtain from computers.

Brown said: 'Because we believe in the civil liberties of the individual, we
must also strengthen accountability to parliament and independent bodies
overseeing the police, not subjecting people to arbitrary treatment. The
world has changed, so we need tougher security. We must recognise there is a
group of people we must isolate who are determined to attack. Our security
must be strengthened, but we must also strengthen the accountability of our
institutions.'

Excellent! -- DSH

Brown will demonstrate this by giving parliament a greater role in
overseeing the intelligence services. He will place the Parliamentary
Intelligence and Security Committee, which reports to the Prime Minister, on
a similar basis as parliamentary select committees, which are accountable
to MPs.

Potentially Problematic.  Generating More Infamous British Security
Leaks? -- DSH

Brown's decision to call for a Privy Council review on the use of
telephone-tap evidence shows the Chancellor believes the traditional
balancing act - whether it is right to produce in court irrefutable evidence
of a terrorist conspiracy when that might expose other intelligence
sources - has now come down in favour of presenting the evidence.

We'll see how that one plays out.

DSH

Lux et Veritas et Libertas

Britannicus Traductus Sum