Great Britain: Labour's anti-terror pledge (Home Secretary promises tough anti-terror measures)

This Is London ^ | November 21, 2004

[Stoat]

Labour's anti-terror pledge
21 November 2004

Home Secretary David Blunkett has signalled that a third term Labour government would impose sweeping new anti-terror laws amid fears of an al Qaida attack on Britain.

Mr Blunkett said officials were looking at a range of measures - from jury-less anti-terror courts to allowing wiretap evidence in trials - which could be implemented if Labour was re-elected at the General Election.

He said that civil orders - similar to anti-social behaviour orders - could be imposed against individuals who had not committed an offence but were suspected of "acts preparatory to terrorism". 

In an interview with ITV1's Jonathan Dimbleby programme, he said that breach of such orders would be a criminal offence which could result in imprisonment.

"We'd be able to use civil (orders), like anti-social behaviour orders, to say, 'If you step outside what we've precluded you from doing, if you actually for instance, use this particular banking network, if you, for instance, use the internet and we can identify you've done it, then we can move you from the civil into the criminal law', and then we can use the normal criminal justice process," he said.

Mr Blunkett said that the introduction of special terrorism trials with judges sitting alone without a jury was also being considered.

"I think there's a very strong case for translating what we have in the special immigrations appeals tribunal, that is the superior court of record, into the criminal justice system and there's widespread support for looking at that," he said.

He said that any decision on legislation would have to wait until after the general election.

"It's not my intention to try and push a bill through this side of the general election whenever the Prime Minister calls it," he said.

He said that he was also considering allowing wire tap evidence in criminal trials - a move previously opposed by the security services who feared that they could be force to disclose secret operations in court.

[Stoat]

Home Secretary David Blunkett...working to keep Great Britain safe. 

[GeronL]

wire taps???

How about finding them and killing them??

[Stoat]

"wire taps???
How about finding them and killing them??"

You'll get no arguments from me...but I think that wiretaps may well help to find and kill the terrorists.  It sounds like the Home Secretary is serious about terror, and is banking on the British public's seriousness on terror as well.

[NYTexan]

Is GB turning tuff on islamofascists?

[Ciexyz]

A step in the right direction.

[unfortunately a bluestater]

Sounds like the UK might be getting serious about terrorism. This together with what The Netherlands has been doing since Van Gogh is good news. The Europeans may start to better understand where the US is coming from.