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Counter-Terrorism Bill

I apologise. I certainly did not support 28 days because there is a principle, and 28 days is beyond it. I hope that I shall come shortly to the point raised by the noble Lord. It is surely an essential ingredient of living in what we still call a free country that we are free from the fear of being locked up without charge. On occasions—I think that this is the point of the noble Lord, Lord Foulkes—we accept that it is necessary in the interests of public safety to restrict that principle. When it is, it is surely once again the mark of a free country that we do so for the minimum time possible. We should not throw away any of our liberties as we are asked to do by the Bill just in case it may become necessary in future or for no compelling reason or as a result of speculation, because, once we go down that path and unless someone says ““Stop””, that road leads on to indefinite detention, which others to their shame have followed. Another important principle of living in a free society is surely that the law should not only apply but also be seen to apply equally to everyone. As the noble Lord, Lord Ahmed, and the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Chelmsford said at Second Reading, these provisions are viewed by many in the Muslim communities, which do not support terrorism, as a confirmation that those in power make special rules for them and regard their freedoms more lightly than those of ordinary criminals, for whom the limit of detention without charge is lower. In the war against terrorism, as the noble Baroness, Lady Neville-Jones, has indicated, these provisions are an own goal. Attempts have been made to persuade both Houses that this legislation contains meaningful safeguards, but, as others—notably, the noble Lord, Lord Thomas—have pointed out, it does nothing of the sort. There cannot be effective judicial oversight before a person is charged because there is no sufficient evidence for a court to test. If there were, the detainee would have had to have been charged. Nor can there be effective parliamentary oversight, because, as others have already said, Parliament cannot examine individual cases pre-trial because the result would be prejudice, which would prevent the trial ultimately taking place. The so-called safeguards therefore have as much substance as the back of the envelope on which they appear to have been drafted in order to push these measures past a vote in another place.