UK unveils tougher terror laws
24/01/2008 20:32  - (SA)  

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D'Arcy Doran

London - The British government unveiled sweeping plans on Thursday to toughen terrorism laws, including a proposal to hold suspects for up to 42 days without charge.

Home Secretary Jacqui Smith's plan would increase the limit for detaining suspects without charge from 28 days to 42 days.

It also would allow police to take DNA samples from terrorism suspects and urge judges to impose stiffer sentences on criminals whose offences were linked to terrorism.

Proposals to increase the maximum time terrorism suspects can be held by police are opposed by human-rights groups as well as lawmakers within Prime Minister Gordon Brown's Labour party, guaranteeing a vicious fight in Parliament.

Growing in scale

Smith said in an interview on BBC radio that the detention period had to be extended because the severity of the terrorist threat often had forced police to act before they had all the evidence needed for a conviction.

"It's growing in scale. It's becoming more complicated in nature," she said.

"People need to intervene earlier because of the way in which it aims to cause mass casualties with no warning."

Opponents of the changes - including Britain's chief prosecutor and a former chief legal adviser to the government - claim no evidence has been produced to support an extension of detention limits.

Only 34 Labour parliamentarians would need to vote against the measure to defeat it, and a survey of the party by The Independent newspaper last month indicated that at least 38 were vowing to oppose moves to extend the existing limits.

Millions being laid out

Tony Blair suffered a humbling first defeat as prime minister in 2005 when parliamentarians rejected his plan to increase the detention limit to 90 days, settling on a compromise of 28 days.

The bill also laid out how much the government had committed to spending on counter-terrorism.

It provided police with £472m (about R6 480m) for counter-terrorism work last year and an additional £695m was allocated in October. The government said funding would increase over this year and next year.

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