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Blair Hits Back Over Plan for Tough New Anti-Terror Laws

Posted on: Friday, 16 September 2005, 15:00 CDT

TONY BLAIR today mounted a stout defence of controversial new anti-terror laws saying people who come to this country must "play by the rules, play fair".

The Prime Minister spoke out in New York after civil liberties campaigners criticised the proposals laid out yesterday by Home Secretary Charles Clarke.

In particular they criticised proposals to extend the period terror suspects could be held without charge from two weeks to three months. They said this amounted to internment.

And there were also concerns about creating a new offence of "glorification" of terrorism.

Mr Clarke wants cross-party consensus to get the laws through parliament quickly but already opposition parties say they have problems with the plans. But speaking from the United Nations, Mr Blair strongly defended the new moves.

In an interview on Radio Four's Today programme, he said: "Nearly every country in Europe, following terrorist acts, has been toughening up the legislation.

"The fact that someone who comes into our country and might seek refuge here, the fact that we say when you are here play by the rules, play fair. Don't start inciting people to go and kill other innocent people in Britain.

"I think that when people say this is an abrogation of our traditional civil liberties, I think it is possible to exaggerate that.

"

Mr Blair added: "We have not been tough enough, nor effective enough, in sending a strong signal across the community that we are not going to tolerate people engaging in terrorism or propagating it."

During the interview by Jim Naughtie, Mr Blair also touched on how Gordon Brown will continue his policy of public service reform and modernisation if the Chancellor succeeds him as Prime Minister. And he made it clear that he expects the Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath MP to take over in 10 Downing Street when he stands down.

He also said his ambition before leaving No 10 was to ensure that his NHS and education changes were "bedded down".

Mr Clarke published the draft anti-terror legislation he promised after the London bombings in July after the security services detained seven people under powers allowing deportation for security reasons.

The detainees were all Algerians, with six held in London and one in Greater Manchester. Most were among the eight men cleared in April of involvement in a ricin poison plot. The men's solicitor Gareth Pierce has warned that if they are deported to Algeria they will be tortured.

Mr Clarke's new proposals would outlaw "the glorification" of terrorism, create an offence of acts preparatory to terrorism and a new crime of giving or receiving terror training. He proposes a new offence of indirect incitement of terrorism. Mr Clarke has accepted police calls that two weeks is not enough to assemble a complex case. He stressed that three months' detention would be the maximum, in "very rare" cases and would be approved by a judge every week.

Shami Chakrabarti, director of Liberty, said:

"This new British internment is as damaging to fighting terrorism at home as to defending our reputation."

The Conservative shadow home secretary David Davis said that most of the proposals were "eminently sensible".

Source: Evening News; Edinburgh (UK)

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