Government considers secret anti-terror courts

The government is considering the introduction of secret pre-trial hearings in terror cases, it has been revealed.

The Home Office is considering the possibility of a move to the French style inquisitorial system, which would give security-cleared judges the opportunity to assess sensitive intelligence evidence – including phone tap evidence, which is currently inadmissible under the UK's adversarial court system – prior to a trial.

The plan, which the Government admits is a long term one, would also include the appointment of special advocates who would provide legal representation to suspects, but would be unable to reveal to them the nature of the evidence held against them.

Last week, Prime Minister Tony Blair announced a series of anti-terror measures, which included the examination of a new court procedure, which would allow a pre-trial process. Mr Blair said that it would provide a way of meeting requests from police to extend the detention periods for terror suspects.

Suspects can currently be detained for two weeks, but police want to extend the limit to three months.

Liberal Democrat legal affairs spokesperson Simon Hughes agreed that there “may be a case” for security-cleared judges to undertake special work, but said that he did not think a major extension of the time limit that suspects could be held could be justified.

Conservative Shadow Home Affairs Minister Edward Garnier urged the government to consult with other parties on the proposals. He said that the government needed to “calm down and think these things through”.

(KMcA/SP)