Government May Sway Rebel MPs On Detention Laws

A looming defeat faced by the Government on terror suspect detention plans could be averted thanks to concessions made by the Home Secretary.

Jacqui Smith said in a meeting at the start of the week that the proposed 42-day limit would only be used in "exceptional circumstances".

Currently, a number of Conservative, Liberal Democrat and Labour MPs are opposed to the plans.

It is believed that Ms Smith's concessions will include a strict definition of the circumstances in which the powers could be used and also a shorter period in which the powers could be used.

At the moment, terror suspects can be held for up to 28 days without charge, after which they must be charged or freed.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown said in an article in the The Times newspaper on Monday that he "is under no illusion" that today's threats are "different in their scale and nature" from anything that has been faced before.

He said that there are at least 2,000 terror suspects in the UK, as well as 200 networks or cells and 30 "active plots".

"It is this nature of modern terrorism and the growing complexity of investigations that have led not just the Government but the police and the independent reviewer, Lord Carlile of Berriew, to believe there may be circumstances where it is necessary to go beyond 28 days' pre-charge detention.

"Having considered carefully all the evidence and arguments, I believe that, with all these protections against arbitrary treatment in place, allowing up to 42 days' pre-charge detention in these exceptional terrorist cases is the right way to protect national security," he said.

In a speech at the International Conference on Radicalisation and Political Violence, Ms Smith said: "To succeed against terrorism and violent extremism in this country, we will depend not on force, but on force of argument. Not on authoritarianism, but on the authority that comes from shared values, shared rights and shared responsibilities."

"The threat is real. The threat is live. But we must keep that firmly in perspective - it comes from a very small minority of people. The great majority of us, who share common values and principles, find the murder of innocent people abhorrent."

However, Labour MP John Grogan says he "is not convinced" by plans to extend the 28-day limit and "liberties" should not be given up lightly "which have taken centuries to establish".

The Council of Europe's Human Rights Commissioner, Thomas Hammarberg has warned that the plans to extend the current limit could "fall foul" of the European Convention of Human Rights.

According to the Home Office website, the current level threat out of five levels is 'severe', which ranks second.

The threat level is decided by MI5 and the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre.

(DS/KMcA)