Proposed legislation
Proposed legislation
Since July a number of announcements have been made about future counter-terrorism legislation.
During the passage of the Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005, the government announced plans to bring forward further counter terrorism legislation.
The Terrorism Bill was introduced to Parliament in October, and the Commons voted to reject the plans to allow police to detain terror suspects for up to 90 days without charge. Read the news article 'Defeat does not detract from Terrorism Bill'.
Content of the Bill
The Terrorism Bill contains measures designed to ensure that the police, intelligence agencies and courts have all the tools they require to tackle terrorism and bring perpetrators to justice.
This Bill is not a direct response to the July attacks on London as it had been announced that new terrorism legislation would be forthcoming this autumn. However it does respond to those events in line with consultation with law enforcement and intelligence agencies.
As the Prime Minister made clear in his statement of 5th august, the 'rules of the game are changing' and the Bill explicitly aims to make it more difficult for extremists to abuse the freedoms we cherish in order encourage others to commit terrorist acts.
You can read the Terrorism Bill on the UK Parliament website.
Documents relating to the Bill
-
The Home Secretary's letter of 6 October to opposition colleagues of 6 October, including the new draft Clause 1 of the Bill, incorporating glorification of terrorism. Read the letter of 6 October
- Read the letter from the Home Secretary of 15 September
Announcements about proposed counter-terrorism measures
Letter to the opposition of 15 July
The Home Secretary wrote to his opposition colleagues following the London Bombings, seeking their views on planned legislation, and seeking consensus. The letter was published in the libraries of the Houses of Parliament. Read the letter of July 15
Home Secretary's statement of 20 July
In his statement to the House of Commons on the 20th July, Charles Clarke identified three new offences to be brought forward in the new Bill:
-
Acts Preparatory
- Indirect Incitement
-
Terrorist training in the use of hazardous substances.
Prime Minister's statement of 5 August - The Twelve Point Plan
The Prime Minister made a further statement on 5 August 2005 which included further proposed legislative measures:
- Creating an offence of glorifying terrorism, in the UK or abroad.
- Examining calls for police to be able to hold terror suspects for longer prior to charging.
- Proscribing the group Hizb ut Tahrir and the successor organisation of Al-Muhajiroun - and look at whether the grounds for proscription need to be widened.
- Consulting on creating new powers to close places of worship used to foment extremism. The consultation has now closed and responses have been received, read about the Preventing Extremism Together consultation
- Full text of the Prime Minister's statement of 5 August 2005
- Read the Home Secretary's progress report on the 12 point plan on the Home Office Press website
