Special anti-terror courts sitting in secret to determine how long suspects should be detained without charge are now under active consideration, it emerged yesterday.
Home Office sources confirmed that ministers are considering making a French-style "security-cleared judge" responsible for assembling a pre-trial case against terrorist suspects, with in-camera access to sensitive intelligence evidence, including currently inadmissible phone-tap evidence.
The plan under consideration, which echoes elements of David Blunkett's proposal last year for secret anti-terrorist courts, could also involve the use of security-vetted "special advocates" as legal representatives of those detained. But they would not be able to disclose the nature of the evidence under which their clients were held before being charged.
The proposal puts flesh on the point outlined by Tony Blair last Friday, when he said that part of the new anti-terror package would include "a new court procedure which would allow a pretrial process". He said it would provide a way of meeting requests by the police and security services that detention before charge should be extended from the current 14 days up to three months.
It was also confirmed yesterday that the prime minister's plan to ban Hizb-ut-Tahrir and its successor organisation, al-Muhajiroun, the two Islamist extremist organisations with the highest profile in Britain, is likely to need primary legislation before it can be enforced, as neither group is officially considered a terrorist organisation.
Whitehall sources said that the current Terrorism 2000 Act only allows "terrorist" organisations to banned; for Hizb-ut-Tahrir to be proscribed, legislation to extend the definition to radical extremist groups as well will be required. It is not known at present how "extremist" will be defined, and whether it would catch groups such as the British National party.
The list of "unacceptable behaviours" published by the Home Office includes fomenting terrorism, advocating violence and expressing "extreme views that are in conflict with the UK's culture of tolerance".
1 comment:
I remember when the Brits thought all these secret courts/tribunals were a bad idea. Funny what a terrorist attack in your own backyard will do.
Post a Comment