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Terrorism Bill

I am extremely grateful for that, especially as I support what the noble Lord has just said. As will be appreciated from my Second Reading contribution, I view very seriously the question of detention for terrorist suspects, and it is only on this amendment—to extend the time to 90 days—that I shall be speaking. The amendment certainly is not simple, but it is straightforward and fundamental. We have heard a great deal about how the 28-day provision was decided in the other place, but it should be remembered that the 90-day proposal was supported by nearly 300 Members of the other place and was defeated only by the action of a relatively small number of Labour rebels, a number of whom were, I suspect, more concerned with giving the Prime Minister a black eye than with the issue that was before them. However, I shall concentrate largely on the attitude of Her Majesty’s loyal Opposition and my own Front Bench, because I find little if any consistency in the stance of the Liberal Democrats, save in one thing—their obsession to replace the Conservative Party as the official Opposition. They often give the impression that they lead members of the Conservative Party through the Lobby, especially in this House, with a ring through their noses. As we all know, the police requested 90 days as a maximum, not a norm. The Government provided for any detention to be reviewed by a judge every seven days and the legislation to be subject to a sunset clause, under which the law has to be re-enacted again in 12 months. Following the events of 7 July this year, we can no longer have a leisurely academic debate on this matter. What happened on 7 July created an urgent situation. More than 50 of our people died, more than 300 were injured, and thousands of body parts were strewn across large areas of London. We must do all in our power to prevent such a tragedy happening again. There was an interesting quote in the Times which I shall relate briefly. It is headed, ““Bomb plots rising””, and states:"““Counter-terrorist operations have risen by 75 per cent since the July 7 bombings. Sir Ian Blair, Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, said that his experts received ‘high grade’ intelligence reports almost daily. Three terrorist plots had been thwarted since 7/7, he said, adding that mass atrocities were being planned””." They are not being planned in the Lebanon, in Egypt or in Jordan. They are being planned here on our doorstep in Britain. If I am not well, I seek the advice of a doctor. If I have a legal problem, I seek advice from a lawyer. If I have a security problem, I seek advice from the police. That is exactly what our Government have done, and they have acted on it. If we want the police and the security services to protect the citizens of our society, we must heed their advice or suffer the dire consequences that are very likely to follow. I believe that the Official Opposition in the other place got themselves into a mire because of their temptation to take advantage of political opportunism, for which they will be blamed by the British people if another tragedy occurs. It is my hope that by a display of national responsibility by the Opposition in this House we can get back on the right rails. I have been involved in active politics and representative politics for more than 40 years, since I was first elected to the Coity Parish Council in 1963. Up until 1997 it was often claimed that Conservative governments were the only governments who could safeguard our economy and defend the realm and were the party of law and order. Three general election results in a row have clearly shown that the Conservatives are no longer considered by the British people as the custodians of the economy. Now, they are at risk of being considered incapable of defending the realm and supporting our society in the area of law and order. Therefore, I urge them to go through the Lobby with those of us supporting this amendment, so that the other place can think again before it is too late. As for my own Front Bench, I am given to understand that parliamentary protocol obliges them at the very least to abstain on this amendment. To them I say that the matter is too serious and too important for protocol to stand in their way. I hope they will have the courage of their convictions and vote for the amendment. Since coming to this House eight years ago, I have always been impressed by the independent and common-sense approach by which this House has so often determined our desire to do the right thing. I know it is right to support this amendment and I pray that the Committee feels the same way.