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| Thursday, 27 January 2005 |
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UK announces sweeping new anti-terrorism powers LONDON, Wednesday (Reuters) Britain said on Wednesday it will scrap post-Sept. 11 emergency laws to jail foreigners without trial and replace them with sweeping new powers to put terrorism suspects of any nationality under house arrest. The announcement amounts to a complete overhaul of security policy after the country's highest court ruled that draconian emergency powers violate basic rights. "The threat is real and I believe the steps I am announcing today will make us better able to meet this threat," Home Secretary Charles Clarke told parliament. He said 11 foreign terrorism suspects held under the old powers would remain jailed until the new measures were in place. Some could be deported to other countries if Britain can negotiate guarantees they would not be killed or tortured. Under the new powers, the government would be able to forbid terrorism suspects from meeting certain people, impose curfews or electronic tagging on them or confine them to house arrest. Unlike the previous measures, which were based on immigration law and applied only to foreigners, the new measures could be used against British nationals. The government would not have to prove that suspects had committed a crime, and violating the orders would itself be a criminal offence. Britain declared a state of emergency after the Sept. 11 2001 attacks on the United States and said the threat from al Qaeda justified suspending the right to a fair trial guaranteed by the European Convention on Human Rights. |
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