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British Officials Seek Wider Powers to Fight Terror
Terror suspects in the United Kingdom could be forced to obey a curfew and be kept under house arrest without trial through new government antiterrorism powers proposed yesterday by British Prime Minister Tony Blair’s administration, the Associated Press reported (see GSN, Oct. 4, 2004). Legislation for the new “control orders” are to be introduced as soon as possible, according to Home Secretary Charles Clarke, who said the laws would apply to British citizens and noncitizens alike. “There remains a public emergency threatening the life of the nation,” Clarke said before the House of Commons. “The threat is real, and I believe that the steps I am announcing today will enable us more effectively to meet that threat.” Other proposed measures under the plan include electronic tagging, restricted access to telecommunications devices and prohibitions against meeting certain people, AP reported. The new powers could be invoked if there were “reasonable grounds” to believe a person was involved in terrorist activity, a lower standard of proof than is required in trials, according to AP. “The government wants draconian new powers,” Human Rights Watch said. “House arrest on the say-so of the home secretary has no place in a democracy” (Ed Johnson, Associated Press/Philadelphia Inquirer, Jan. 27).
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