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Counter-Terrorism Bill

I will not give way for the moment—forgive me. The Home Secretary reminds us time and again that she is, in her words, ““responsible”” for national security. She is right to stress that. A Home Secretary must take advice from all members of the law enforcement agencies, but she must check and ask questions; she must establish the facts, as we have been doing this afternoon. That is her responsibility. As the evidence in favour of extending pre-charge detention has evaporated under scrutiny, it has been replaced with growing evidence that the pre-charge detention proposals risk making us less, not more safe. The former chief inspector of constabulary has described the proposal on 42 days as a ““propaganda coup”” for al-Qaeda. They are a gift to ““propagandists”” that will drive the brainwashed to ““acts of martyrdom””, according to one former Metropolitan police commissioner. They are a threat to local community intelligence, according to the Government's own impact assessment on the Bill. The proposal is wrong in principle and dangerous in practice.