Government defeat on the Terrorism Bill

Written by Vincent Cable MP and published in The Informer on Mon 14th Nov 2005

Last week saw an historic event in parliament: the first defeat of a government on a major piece of legislation for many years, on the 90 day detention powers in the Terrorism Bill. No one cheered. It was a sobering occasion. Terrorism is a serious matter.

Like many MPs, I received a direct approach from the police suggesting that I support the government's proposals, or something like them. I have great respect for the police and they have some strong arguments but I did not agree with their line.

It is easy to see why the police want longer detention periods without charge. They are dealing with extremely dangerous people and do not want terrorists to slip through their fingers. They have problems in assembling evidence quickly from email intercepts and from computer hard drives.

The counter argument, which prevailed, was the danger of innocent people being held in prison for long periods without charge. Strikingly, Ian Paisleys' Democratic Unionists voted with the Liberal Democrats, Conservatives and Labour rebels against the Bill. Their experience in Ulster had told them that detention without trial helped, not hindered the IRA, by creating martyrs. Opposition to the Bill had nothing to do with being soft on suspected terrorists.

No one could accuse the Australian or US governments of being soft on terrorism, either, but Australia allows only 24 hours before criminal charges are brought; the USA, 7 days.

In the event, parliament agreed to 28 day detention, twice the previous limit. I suspect that the police are quietly pleased and that the only person who wasn't was Tony Blair. He tried to walk on water, and sank.