Control orders: ‘watered-down’ terror measures announced

Civil rights groups accused the Government of “bottling” the decision on the future of counter-terrorism powers, saying the rebranded control orders were simply a watered down version of their predecessors and would still restrict rights.

Among the plans is the end of 28-day detention without charge, a drive to be more flexible on powers for detaining suspects overnight (although electronic tags will remain), stronger efforts to deport suspects, and an end to indiscriminate stop and search powers.

Mrs May gave a clear signal that the restrictions on suspected terrorists against whom prosecutions cannot be brought are here to stay, saying the powers will no longer need to be reviewed every year.

But the term “control order” has been scrapped and will be replaced with “terrorism prevention and investigation measures”, or Tpims.

Shami Chakrabarti, director of Liberty, said: “When it comes to ending punishment without trial, the Government appears to have bottled it.

“Spin and semantics aside, control orders are retained and rebranded, if in a slightly lower-fat form.

“Parliament must now decide whether the final flavour will be of progress, disappointment or downright betrayal.”

The plans amount to a “control order-lite” which could lead to “potentially punishing the innocent while the truly dangerous may remain at large in the community”, Liberty said.

Gary Gibbon blog: Control orders – politically neutralised now?

However, Quilliam, the counter-extremism think-tank, welcomed the review, saying that the announced measures are an attempt to better balance the demands of security with protecting human rights.

Maajid Nawaz, Quilliam’s Director, said: “Today’s review of the government’s counter-terrorism powers is a welcome and positive development. The system of control orders established by the previous government was seen to be an imperfect but necessary evil and it is therefore right that it has been reviewed. It is good news that the Coalition has recognised the problems of the old control orders system while also recognising that, in the absence of any alternatives, scrapping the system altogether is not feasible and may increase the risk of terrorist attacks.

“At the same, we should remember that there is no substitute for giving people a fair and open trial. The government, the police and the security services need to make sure that wherever possible suspected terrorists receive fair trials in which they and their lawyers are able to view and challenge all the evidence against them before a jury. British traditions of justice should be upheld and defended wherever possible. Control orders – or whatever system replaces them – should remain only a last resort.”

MPs deride residence plans

But the decision to scrap 16-hour curfews while bringing in overnight residence requirements, typically of between eight and 10 hours, were greeted with laughter from MPs in the Commons.

The overnight stays will be monitored by electronic tags and there will be an additional level of flexibility, with the suspects allowed to apply to spend a night away from their main residence.

Asked if she accepted that the new plans would still impose on civil liberties, Mrs May said: “What I accept is that sadly there are a small number of cases where we are not able to prosecute people but we do need to take measures to maintain national security and keep people safe.”

Eight terror suspects are currently subject to control orders but putting them under surveillance instead would be difficult with limited resources.
The Tpims will give greater freedom of communication and association than the control order regime, which was described by critics as being akin to house arrest.

The new powers will “more clearly target and focus” on limitations, while still enabling authorities to ban a suspect from visiting a particular building or street, Mrs May said.

Internet limited

Limited use of the internet on a home computer will also be permitted, provided that all passwords are provided to the authorities.

But curfews and further restrictions on communications, association and movement could all be brought in as part of “exceptional emergency measures”.

The end of 28-day detention without charge, which was allowed to lapse back to 14 days as of Tuesday, was “one of the key issues that people are concerned about”, Mrs May said.

She also told MPs the Government was trying to find “a practical way” of using intercept evidence in courts to tackle terrorism and other serious crime and a report on a “legally viable model” is expected by the summer.