RESEARCH PAPER 08/52 Counter-Terrorism Bill 5 JUNE 2008 Committee Stage Report Bill 100 of 2007-8 This is a report on the Committee Stage of the Counter-Terrorism Bill, Bill 63 of 2007-08. The Bill as amended in Committee and published for the Report Stage is Bill 100 of 2007-08. This report has been produced in response to a recommendation of the Modernisation Committee in its report on The Legislative Process (HC 1097, 2005-06). The Counter-Terrorism Bill covers a wide range of topics; however, the most contentious have proved to be proposals in relation to pre-charge detention, post charge questioning and inquests and inquiries. The Bill Committee took evidence from a number of witnesses prior to debate, primarily on these issues. It held 14 sittings between 22 April and 15 May 2008. Remaining Stages are to be on 10-11 June 2008. Alexander Horne HOME AFFAIRS SECTION Catherine Fairbairn HOME AFFAIRS SECTION HOUSE OF COMMONS LIBRARY RESEARCH PAPER 08/52 Recent Library Research Papers include: 08/36 Transport in London 21.04.08 08/37 Social Indicators 23.04.08 08/38 2001 Census of Population: Statistics for New Parliamentary 23.04.08 Constituencies 08/39 Parliamentary Involvement in Public Appointments 23.04.08 08/40 Energy Bill: Committee Stage Report 23.04.08 08/41 Planning and Energy Bill: Committee Stage Report 30.04.08 08/42 Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill [HL] [Bill 70 of 2007-08] 02.05.08 08/43 Economic Indicators, May 2008 06.05.08 08/44 Children and Young Persons Bill [HL] [Bill No 8 of 2007-08] 08.05.08 08/45 Unemployment by Constituency, April 2008 14.05.08 08/46 Regulatory Enforcement and Sanctions Bill [HL] 2007-08 16.05.08 [Bill 103 of 2007-08] 08/47 London Elections 2008. Elections for Mayor of London and London 20.05.08 Assembly: 1 May 2008 08/48 2008 Local Elections [date tbc] 08/49 Local Transport Bill [HL]: Committee Stage Report 20.05.08 [Bill 106 of 2007-08] 08/50 Health and Safety (Offences) Bill: Committee Stage Report 28.05.08 08/51 Economic Indicators, June 2008 03.06.08 Research Papers are available as PDF files: • to members of the general public on the Parliamentary web site, URL: http://www.parliament.uk • within Parliament to users of the Parliamentary Intranet, URL: http://hcl1.hclibrary.parliament.uk Library Research Papers are compiled for the benefit of Members of Parliament and their personal staff. Authors are available to discuss the contents of these papers with Members and their staff but cannot advise members of the general public. We welcome comments on our papers; these should be sent to the Research Publications Officer, Room 407, 1 Derby Gate, London, SW1A 2DG or e-mailed to [email protected] ISSN 1368-8456 2 RESEARCH PAPER 08/52 CONTENTS I Main provisions of the Bill 5 II Second Reading, 1 April 2008 6 III Public Bill Committee – Evidence Sessions 9 1. Sir Ian Blair (Metropolitan Police Commissioner) and Bob Quick (Chair, Terrorism and Allied Matters Committee), Association of Chief Police Officers 10 2. Sir Ken Macdonald QC (Director of Public Prosecutions) and Sue Hemming (Head of Counter-Terrorism Division, CPS) 11 3. Lord Goldsmith QC 13 4. Tony McNulty, Minister for Security, Counter-Terrorism, Crime and Policing 14 5. Coroners’ Society of England and Wales 15 IV Public Bill Committee – Debate 15 A. Period of pre-charge detention 15 B. Post-charge questioning 18 C. Jurisdiction to try offences committed in the UK 19 D. Inquests and inquiries 20 1. Amendments agreed 20 2. Other significant areas of debate 20 3. Ministerial undertakings to consider 21 V Other developments 22 1. Potential concessions on pre-charge detention proposals: Media comment 22 2. The Prime Minister’s Article 23 VI Home Office paper on revised pre-charge detention plans 24 A. The proposals 24 B. Responses to the revised proposals 25 C. Report of the Joint Committee on Human Rights (JCHR) 27 VII Annex: Members of the Public Bill Committee 28 3 RESEARCH PAPER 08/52 VIII Annex 2 – Recent press coverage 29 IX Annex 3 – Home Office flow chart detailing the process involved in the proposed extension of pre-charge detention. 30 4 RESEARCH PAPER 08/52 I Main provisions of the Bill The Counter-Terrorism Bill was published on 24 January 2008 as Bill 63 of 2007-08.The Bill as amended in Committee and published for the Report Stage is now Bill 100 of 2007-08. It contains a number of provisions which the Government state are designed to enhance counter-terrorism powers. Part 1 of the Bill includes (amongst other things) a new power to remove documents for examination, powers to take fingerprints and samples from people subject to control orders and data sharing powers. Part 2 of the Bill includes a clause to introduce a reserve power to increase the time a person can be detained prior to charge, from 28 days to 42 days, by further amending the Terrorism Act 2000. This is likely to be the most contentious measure contained within the Bill. Part 2 also makes provision for the post-charge questioning of suspects. Part 3 of the Bill introduces provisions for specified terrorism offences committed anywhere in the UK to be tried in any part of the UK. It also deals with sentencing for terrorist offenders, requiring courts to consider a terrorist connection as an aggravating factor. Part 4 would ensure that people convicted of terrorist or terrorism related offences, who were sentenced to more than 12 months imprisonment, would be subject to notification requirements and could be made subject of foreign travel orders. These orders would enable restrictions to be placed on the overseas travel of those persons subject to notification requirements, where there was reasonable cause to believe that they had acted in a way that made it necessary for an order to be made to prevent them from taking part in terrorist activity outside the UK. Part 5 of the Bill relates to asset freezing proceedings and would amend the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 in order that intercept material could be used in asset freezing cases related to terrorism. It also provides an enabling power for the Lord Chancellor to make court procedure rules to allow the use of special advocates, closed hearings and withholding of evidence in civil court proceedings relating to asset freezing decisions. Part 6 of the Bill, relating to inquests and inquiries, contains provisions for coroners’ inquests to take place without a jury, where the Secretary of State certifies that the inquest would involve the consideration of material that should not be made public for certain reasons. It would also amend the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 to allow intercept evidence to be disclosed in exceptional circumstances. Parts 5 and 6 of the Bill are the only parts to make reference to intercept evidence and the Bill does not make any provision for the use of such evidence in criminal proceedings. Part 7 of the Bill would amend the definition of terrorism in section 1 of the Terrorism Act 2000 to include reference to acts carried out for the purpose of advancing a racial cause. It also creates an offence of communicating information relating to the armed forces, which is likely to be of use to terrorists; and amends the offence of failing to disclose information about a suspected terrorist offence. It includes amendments to the control order regime and a new scheme relating to the recovery of the costs of policing at gas facilities. 5 RESEARCH PAPER 08/52 A House of Commons Library Research Paper, Counter-Terrorism Bill (RP 08/20) provides briefing on the main provisions of the Bill and the background to them. Documents relating to the Bill, including Library publications are available at: http://services.parliament.uk/bills/2007-08/counterterrorism.html II Second Reading, 1 April 2008 The Bill received an unopposed Second Reading on 1 April 2008.1 While it appears that both the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats support some of the proposals in the Bill, there was fierce debate on the proposals relating to pre-charge detention and concern about the proposals on coroners. The Bill was introduced by the Home Secretary, Jacqui Smith, who said: From the outset, my approach to this Bill has been to emphasise the importance of consultation and consensus-building. We have consulted widely, and at length, with hon. Members, the public, the police, civil liberties organisations, community groups and the judiciary. Our proposals have been scrutinised by relevant Committees here in Parliament, and by Lord Carlile, the independent reviewer of terrorism legislation. I believe that many measures in this Bill have already achieved broad support […] I want to turn now to the issue of the period of time that the police have available to investigate and question a suspect before charge—the period of pre-charge detention. That issue has divided the House before, and today has seen that yet again. It is the issue in the Bill that has been the subject of the greatest debate. Indeed, some have questioned why the Government are returning to this thorny issue once again. Quite simply, the response of the law cannot remain frozen when the scale and the nature of the threat are growing […] In my view the maximum time period is not the most important issue. The most important issue is whether people feel that in all circumstances in the future there would never be a time when 28 days would be insufficient.