|
Secret terror courts considered
Special courts sitting in secret for pre-trial hearings in terror cases are being considered by the Home Office.
Judges would weigh up sensitive evidence against suspects before cases went further.
They would also oversee planned powers for police to detain terror suspects for longer before charging them.
The government's anti-terror plans have been criticised by senior Labour MP John Denham, chairman of the home affairs committee, as "half-baked".
The Home Office said details of how terror cases would be tried were still being worked out, but confirmed a move to judge-only courts was under "active consideration".
Phone-taps?
Home Office officials say it is unlikely the plans will be ready to be included in planned new anti-terrorism laws due to be debated by Parliament this autumn.
And they are not examining an exact model for the way the new courts would work.
The idea of moving towards a French-style system, with judges putting together cases against suspects in an inquisitorial rather than adversarial court system, was "very long term" and not being actively considered, they added.
There are no plans to hold full criminal trials in secret. One possible model for the pre-trial hearings could be the Special Immigrations Appeals Tribunal, which sits in secret and keeps the details of charges from those facing them.
Defendants are represented by special advocates, who have access to the evidence but do not brief their 'clients' on the details.
Detention powers
Mr Blair last week said: "We are already examining a new court procedure which would allow a pre-trial process.
We will also examine whether the necessary procedure can be brought about to give us a way of meeting the police and security service request that detention, pre-charge of terrorist suspects, be significantly extended."
Suspects can currently be held for two weeks before being charged but police chiefs want the limit extended to three months because of the complexity of terror cases.
Liberal Democrat President Simon Hughes suggested there "may be a case" for security-vetted judges to undertake special work.
But he doubted a major extension of the time suspects were held could be justified.
'Botched'
Conservative spokesman Edward Garnier urged the government to "calm down and think these things through" and to consult other parties on the detailed proposals.
Ian Macdonald QC, who resigned last year as a barrister in special terror cases, said he thought the secret courts proposal might be botched.
"It will, in fact, be a method of extending the detention of suspects for more than two weeks," he said.
The Home Office has said there is no truth in newspaper reports that the courts would be able to use phone-tap evidence, which is currently inadmissible.
Unveiling a raft of counter-terror proposals on Friday, Mr Blair said British hospitality had been abused but people should know the "rules of the game are changing".
He also announced plans to extend powers to deport or exclude foreigners who encourage terrorism, perhaps through changing human rights laws.
'Half-baked'
There could also be new powers to close mosques and automatic refusal of asylum to anyone with anything to do with terrorism.
The Conservatives and Liberal Democrats have accused the government of confusion by continuing to announce new measures in response to the 7 July attacks.
Senior Labour MP Mr Denham said ministers had initially produced a considered response to the London attacks, but that it now looked like they were acting in a knee-jerk fashion.
"I think they have got to get a grip on it very, very quickly, stop floating half-baked ideas and get back a proper cross-party consensus on the serious measures that have to be taken."
A Downing Street spokeswoman said Tony Blair had made it clear how he wants to proceed.
Source: BBC News
9 Aug 2005
|
%20enjoins%20justice.gif)
