[JURIST] Former London Metropolitan Police Commissioner Lord John Stevens [official profile] slammed British human rights groups Sunday for their efforts to block the controversial new UK policy of deporting persons preaching violence or hatred or posing a threat to national security. Prime Minister Tony Blair announced the policy changes [JURIST report] earlier this month following the July London bombings, and UK Home Secretary Charles Clarke subsequently announced plans to deport [JURIST report] 10 foreign Islamists arrested last week under the antiterror measures. In an article for the News of the World weekly, the outspoken Stevens wrote:

If the human rights industry hadn't managed to secure its stranglehold on Britain, they would have been kicked out years ago. Now, hand-wringing civil rights lawyers and like-minded judges will go into top gear to keep them here.