Counter-Terrorism Bill — Extension of period of detention to 42 days — Order — 11 Jun 2008 at 17:45

The majority of MPs voted to give the Home Secretary the power to allow police detention terrorist suspects without making any criminal charges of for up to 42 days. The Parliamentary procedures to safeguarding this power was established in the previous vote.^[1]

Subject to those procedures, the sequence of events would be:

• Order - The Home Secretary must make a Statutory Order reserving the powers of detention beyond 28 days.^[2]
• Application - The actual application for a detention period beyond 28 days must be made by an agent of the Director of Public Prosecutions to a senior judge.^[3]
• Information - The Home Secretary keep Parliament informed of the dates, times and locations of the persons detained under these conditions.^[4]

As these two votes were two halves of the same measure (added to the body and to the Schedule of the Counter-Terrorism Bill), the votes by MPs should be identical. However, 10 Labour MPs who rebelled from their party in the first vote were absent in the second, and Neil Gerrard MP changed sides.^[5]

• [1] Counter-Terrorism Bill - Extension of period of detention to 42 days - procedure, House of Commons Division, 11 June 2008
• [2] Power to declare reserve power exercisable, New Schedule, 11 June 2008
• [3] Part 4 - Reserve power to extend detention under section 41, New Schedule, 11 June 2008
• [4] Parliament to be informed if court authorises detention beyond 28 days, New Schedule, 11 June 2008
• [5] Comparison of Divisions 219 and 220, House of Commons Divisions

Debate in Parliament | Source | Edit (learn more) | Discussion (last edited 1 Jun 2008 by julian)