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British Response: Anti-Terrorism Legislation Becomes Law The United Kingdom’s controversial anti-terrorism legislation became law today after Prime Minister Tony Blair’s government worked out several compromises with the House of Lords, according to the Associated Press (see GSN, Dec. 7). The final legislation was passed by both houses of Parliament after midnight and was signed into law by Queen Elizabeth II. “It’s a long and complicated bill, but the central issue is a very, very simple one—to take some moderate precautions in our legal framework for dealing with terrorists rewriting their rulebook on Sept. 11,” Government Minister Lord Rooker said. The legislation, which had passed through the House of Commons quickly, met strong opposition in the Lords, which has the power to delay and amend legislation, according to the AP. Blair’s Labor party enjoys a large majority in the Commons but not in the Lords. The government and the opposition agreed to compromise on several measures in the Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Bill. The government agreed to protect privacy by limiting new police powers to search records and agreed to appeals for suspected terrorists detained without trial. The two sides worked out an agreement over a “sunset clause” to the legislation, which will have a committee review the law within two years and submit a report to Parliament for debate. The Lords had wanted a set limit to the life of the law. Blair’s government agreed altogether to drop a controversial measure to create a new law against the incitement of religious hatred. The Lords decided the measure should be debated separately (Ed Johnson, Associated Press/Washington Post, Dec. 13).
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