UK PM-in-waiting calls for re-toughening terror bill News
UK PM-in-waiting calls for re-toughening terror bill

[JURIST Europe] UK Chancellor Gordon Brown [official profile], widely expected to succeed Tony Blair [JURIST news archive] as British Prime Minister before the next election if not sooner, delivered a major policy address Monday calling for a toughening-up of the Terrorism Bill [amended text] currently before the UK Parliament. Insisting that the threat of terror had not abated, he said police should be able to detain terror suspects without charge for more than 28 days and he backed reinstatement of a clause outlawing "glorification of terrorism".

An initially proposed 90-day detention period for terror suspects was defeated in a House of Commons vote in November, when the 28-day period was substituted [JURIST report]. In January, the House of Lords rejected the proposed "glorification of terrorism" offense [JURIST report], calling it unworkable and "not sufficiently legally certain." Speaking at the Royal United Services Institute [official website] in London, Brown nonetheless declared that a balance between individual liberties and security must be struck in legislation. MPs will reconsider the Terrorism Bill Wednesday. Brown also advocated for national ID cards [JURIST report] on the eve of Monday's key Commons vote on that issue. Read the full text of Brown's speech. BBC News has more.

Tatyana Margolin is an Associate Editor for JURIST Europe, reporting European legal news from a European perspective. She is based in the UK.

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