Blair urges MPs to keep 90-day detention limit despite calls for compromise News
Blair urges MPs to keep 90-day detention limit despite calls for compromise

[JURIST] UK Prime Minister Tony Blair [official website] urged British members of Parliament Monday "not to compromise with the nation's security" by reducing a proposed legislative 90-day time limit for detaining terror suspects without charge recommended [PDF letter] by London's Metropolitan Police. Blair's statement came minutes after Home Secretary Charles Clarke [official profile] proposed a compromise amendment to the government's Terrorism Bill [text] reducing the period to between 28 and 90 days. The original 90-day proposal seems unlikely to pass [JURIST report] in the House of Commons, as Liberal Democrats are pushing for a 14-day limit, while Conservatives support a 28-day limit. The Commons will vote on an amendment Wednesday. In his press conference [statement] Monday, Blair said, "We intend to use the time between now and Wednesday to try to get people to understand the importance of giving the police and our security services the powers they need to prevent terrorism in this country." BBC News has more. The Guardian has additional coverage.

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THIS DAY @ LAW

Indian National Congress founded

The Indian National Congress (INC) was founded on December 28, 1885 in Bombay (now Mumbai), India. In subsequent decades, the so-called Congress Party would advocate for Indian independence from the UK, which was eventually achieved in 1947. The first Prime Minister of independent India, Jawaharlal Nehru, was elected as a member of the INC. Learn more about the history and founding of the Indian National Congress.

Congress recognized Pledge of Allegiance

On December 28, 1945, Congress officially recognized the Pledge of Allegiance and encouraged its recitation in schools. The Pledge was supposedly written in 1892 by Francis Bellamy, a Baptist minister, to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Columbus Day. The words “under God” were added by Congress in 1954. The revised version of the Pledge was the subject of litigation before the United States Supreme Court originally brought by Michael Newdow, a parent who unsuccessfully objected to his daughter's school district policy requiring daily recitation of the Pledge. The court ruled that Newdow had no standing.

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On December 28, 2007, the Kingdom of Nepal's interim parliament ended the country's monarchy and established the Republic of Nepal. Free elections were held on April 10 of the following year to elect a Constituent Assembly.

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