U.K.'s Brown Plans to Strengthen Anti-Terrorism Laws, Aide Says
Source: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601102&sid=aVDqYRfF58eY&refer=uk
By Gonzalo Vina
June 3 (Bloomberg) -- U.K. Prime Minister-designate Gordon Brown wants to strengthen anti-terrorism laws, including extending the time suspects can be held without trial and allowing wire taps to be used as evidence in court.
Brown, unopposed to succeed Tony Blair on June 27, will press this week for an extension to the 28 days suspects can be held without charge, said an aide, who declined to be named in line with government policy. Brown will also seek the views of the Privy Council, an advisory body, on whether the law should be changed on telephone taps, the aide added.
``Anti-terror methods must be more sophisticated, with earlier intervention,'' Brown told a party meeting yesterday in Glasgow, Scotland.
Blair and Brown suffered a parliamentary defeat in 2005 to extend the detention time for terror suspects to 90 days, their first defeat since they formed a government in 1997.
Under the plans proposed by Brown, police would also be allowed to continue questioning suspects after they have been charged and would give judges tougher sentencing powers, the aide said. Brown will seek backing for the changes by pledging better judicial oversight of any new powers and stronger parliamentary monitoring of the intelligence services, his aide added.
Brown has already taken a tougher stance against terrorism while heading the Treasury. In October, he said his department would use covert intelligence to curb the financing of terrorism.
The Treasury also plans to freeze suspects' assets without disclosing evidence to defense lawyers, partly to protect the source of the information. Since September 2001, Britain has frozen almost 200 bank accounts because of suspicions they were being used by terrorists.
To contact the reporters on this story: Gonzalo Vina in London at gvina@bloomberg.net
No comments:
Post a Comment