Prime Minister Gordon Brown is refusing to compromise on his proposal to permit a 42-day detention period for terrorists before charges must be filed, and the public is supporting him. What is so appalling about the Conservative Party’s opposition is how apparent it is they merely wish to deny Brown any kind of legislative victory.
The irony of the present parliamentary row over 42 days is that … opponents seem willing to accept almost any crackdown other than this particular measure: reform of the Civil Contingencies Act (CCA); post-charge questioning; more aggressive use of so-called ‘threshold charging’ to allow prosecutors to charge suspects on the basis that stronger evidence is likely to turn up; the use of ‘holding’ charges; the admissibility of intercept evidence; and so on.
Is David Cameron trying to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory in the next national elections? He better pray his political opportunism doesn’t backfire.
