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Terrorism Bill

My Lords, I support the amendment. Following an outstanding debate in this Chamber in Committee in December, on an amendment that I proposed, supported by the noble Baroness, Lady Park, the noble Lord, Lord Imbert, and my noble friend Lord Foulkes, for pre-charge detention of up to 90 days—a debate described by the Minister at the time as one of the most extraordinary in this House for some considerable time—I think that the House is owed an explanation as to why we are not bringing forward such an amendment at Report but are supporting a provision that would allow detention of up to 60 days. The amendment is an attempt, after much consultation and consideration, to deal with the doubts of those noble Lords who genuinely feared that up to 90 days was a step too far or who did not feel that it was right to send back to the Commons something that had been fully debated and decided there. Because of Commons procedures, the amendment allowing detention for up to 60 days was never considered at all there. Personally, I would prefer to accept the advice on adopting 90 days from the counter-terrorism experts in the Met, ACPO and ACPO Scotland, as I am convinced by their arguments. Those arguments are summed up in the detailed and compelling seven-page attachment to the letter from Assistant Commissioner Hayman to the Home Secretary, which we have all seen—the points are very much echoed in paragraphs 57 to 60 of the report of the independent reviewer, the noble Lord, Lord Carlile of Berriew. It is crystal clear to me that 28 days is totally inadequate to meet the current needs of our police and that, if Parliament would agree to up to 60 days, that would give them at least a better opportunity to deal with the time-consuming complexities that are now facing them. Standing here today, I feel very much the loss of two noble friends, for whom I had much affection and who were supporters of my amendment for 90 days in Committee—the much admired and respected Lord Merlyn-Rees and Lord Stratford, who was new to this House but a long-serving and distinguished parliamentarian. It is very sad that, for both of them, their interventions in support of that amendment on 13 December were their final parliamentary speeches. As I have said before, the complexity and difference in nature of the current terrorist threat demands complex and different responses from previous counter-terrorism measures in this country. The police have to move in to detain suspects at a much earlier stage than is the practice in other criminal cases, when suspects can be allowed to continue under surveillance so that evidence is accumulated. In the case of terrorist suspects, no one can dare to allow a case to run, as that would risk losing track of a suspect and enabling a terrible terrorist attack to take place. We are now faced by fanatics aiming for maximum havoc of death and injury, who are ready to sacrifice themselves to achieve it. Those people often have international links—organisational or individual—which have to be painstakingly traced through foreign liaison services of varying degrees of capability and resources, and even willingness, to co-operate. The suspects use advanced technology, often involving encryption, resulting in masses of material to be sifted and analysed. The provision of an adequate supply of technical experts as well as of interpreters and translators to deal with that huge volume of material all slows the process. As Assistant Commissioner Hayman has pointed out, it is not a question of resources alone, because the procedures—some of them inevitably consequential—will take time, a point that was echoed in the report of the noble Lord, Lord Carlile. I cannot see how a maximum of 60 days of pre-charge detention, with a senior judge having to be satisfied every seven days that there is just cause for a further seven days’ detention, would be an unjustified infringement of civil liberties, especially with a sunset clause in the Bill. For me the issue is clear and stark. We are faced with an extraordinary threat to our national security and those who are tasked to meet that threat have asked us for a longer pre-charge detention period, which they consider necessary for them to fulfil their responsibilities. They have made a cogent case, supported by the noble Lord, Lord Carlile, for more time in which to establish evidence. I will not repeat here the words that my noble friend Lord Sewell quoted in introducing this amendment, which he said were ““chilling””—indeed they are. It is clear to me that 28 days is wholly insufficient and wrong. I urge the House to give the Commons the opportunity to consider 60 days, and to vote for this amendment tonight.