3/3/07

QUESTION TO THE HOME SECRETARY ABOUT TERRORISTS

During the debate on counter-terrorism in the House of Commons on Monday 2nd July, John Butterfill questioned the new Home Secretary, Jacqui Smith, about the inadequacy of control orders on terrorists. He pointed out that at least one of the people involved in the recent attempted atrocities in London and Glasgow was subject to a control order and that they were one of several people in that category who had absconded.  He expressed his concern that British courts tend to interpret the Human Rights Act 1998 in a different way from their counterparts elsewhere in Europe, particularly in France and pointed out that even when there was a prospect of deporting people to a jurisdiction that was prepared to guarantee that they would not be subject to torture or the death sentence, it was still not carried out.

John told the Home Secretary that there was a need for consistency in how such multinational legislation was interpreted and asked if the Government would take steps to ensure consistency of interpretation across signatories to the European Convention on Human Rights. The Home Secretary, however, refused to comment on the nature of those involved in the recent incidents but said that she was prepared to look at control orders.