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Prevention and Suppression of Terrorism

I beg to move, "That the draft Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005 (Continuance in force of sections 1 to 9) Order 2006, which was laid before this House on 2nd February, be approved." The Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005 was introduced last year in recognition of our need to be able to tackle the threat posed to national security by individuals whom we could neither prosecute nor deport. The Government’s response to the Law Lords’ ruling on powers under part 4 of the Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001 was the Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005, which introduced control orders enabling tailored obligations to be placed on an individual to protect the public from the risk of terrorism. The Act came into force—after, we recall, some fairly intense parliamentary scrutiny and debate—on 11 March 2005. The threat posed to the life of the nation by terrorism and the consequences of terrorism is a subject that has necessarily occupied this House on too many occasions. The tragic events of last July brought home to everyone the fact that this is a very real and continuing threat.