The interim guidelines will be in place until the new coalition government of Prime Minister David Cameron [official profile] further reviews the nation's counter-terrorism legislation. May said that the government cannot appeal [AFP report] the ECHR ruling, but would not do so if it could.

In January, ECHR unanimously ruled [judgment text] that searches performed by police without legitimate suspicion are illegal. The ECHR found that British police had violated Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights [text, PDF] when they stopped and searched two individuals in 2003 under the Terrorism Act 2000. Under Article 8, everyone is entitled to the right of respect for private and family life. The court found that although the search is undertaken in a public place, Article 8 is still applicable. "Indeed, in the Court's view, the public nature of the search may, in certain cases, compound the seriousness of the interference because of an element of humiliation and embarrassment."