Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005 (Continuance in force of sections 1 to 9) Order 2007

rose to move, That the draft order laid before the House on 1 February be approved. The noble Baroness said: My Lords, the Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005 received Royal Assent in March 2005. The Act provides for control orders to address the risk posed to public safety by individuals believed to be involved in terrorism who can be neither prosecuted nor deported. The purpose of the order before us is simple. Today's renewal debate is taking place in accordance with Section 13 of the 2005 Act. The powers in the Act will automatically lapse after one year unless renewed by order subject to affirmative resolution in both Houses. They were renewedlast year but, without this new order, will lapse on10 March 2007. The effect of the order is to continue the powers in force until 10 March 2008. The other place voted in favour of renewal on 22 February. As there is a serious issue before us, I shall expand on the specific need for the powers to continue. As noble Lords will know, there is a serious and sustained threat from international terrorism to the United Kingdom and United Kingdom interests overseas. The current threat level is assessed as severe. An attack is judged to be highly likely. Moreover, since the tragic events of July, the police and Security Service have had considerable success in disrupting alleged terrorist plots. Prosecution is regularly mentioned in this context, not least by the Joint Committee on Human Rightsin its report published yesterday—and rightly so. We shall of course respond formally to the Joint Committee’s report, but I reassure all noble Lords that prosecution remains the Government’s preferred option for tackling individuals involved in terrorism. That is why the Government have strengthened the ability to prosecute for involvement in terrorism-related activity in the Terrorism Act 2006. It is demonstrated by the fact that, in 2006, 85 individuals were charged after being arrested under the Terrorism Act 2000 or other legislation, when the investigation was conducted as a terrorist investigation. Similarly, we seek to deport foreign nationals involved in terrorism, but that will sometimes not be possible, even with the memoranda of understanding or other agreements that are in place with a number of countries to enable us to return individuals safely to their countries of origin. Consequently, there will remain a comparatively small number of individuals for whom neither prosecution nor deportation is viable and who the Security Service assesses are involved in terrorism and pose a risk to public safety. Without control orders, those individuals would be free to continue to engage in terrorist-related activity. That is a risk that the Government are not prepared to take. I remind noble Lords that voting against renewal without having an alternative in place would expose the public to that risk. I would also ask what alternative noble Lords would have in its place. I emphasise that the legislative proposals suggested by honourable Members in another place to strengthen prosecution powers would not remove the need for control orders. That assessment of the necessity of control orders is shared by the noble Lord, Lord Carlile of Berriew, whose annual report on the operation of the Act was published on 19 February. In paragraph 7, he states: "““I would prefer it if no control order system was necessary. However, in my view, it remains necessary given the nature of the risk of terrorist attacks and the difficulty of dealing with a small number of cases. Control orders provide a proportional means of dealing with those cases, if administered correctly””." We would respectfully agree. I also place on record the Government’s gratitude to the noble Lord, Lord Carlile, who has produced another carefully considered, valuable report, which should inform today’s debate. The two other statutory consultees—the director-general of the Security Service and the Intelligence Services Commissioner—are also content with the intention to renew the legislation. However, as I know that the issue has caused much concern, I underline to the House that control orders have been successful in preventing, or at least limiting, these individuals’ involvement in terrorist-related activity. That view is shared by the Security Service. No one is pretending that control orders are 100 per cent effective. They are weaker and less effective than we would want, not least because of recent court judgments. As a result, there is inevitably a real risk that individuals on control orders will re-engage in terrorism or abscond. Indeed, there have been three well-publicised absconds. The noble Lord, Lord Carlile, addresses that point cogently in his report, in paragraph 59, where he says that, "““the disappearance of a small minority does not necessarily undermine the benefits of the orders in relation to the majority””." More encouragingly, the police, the prosecution authorities and the courts take enforcing control orders seriously. In January, the courts sentenced an individual to five months’ imprisonment for breaches of his control order. Charges against other individuals are pending. So the need for the powers is clear. Parliament can also be reassured that a comprehensive set of safeguards are in place under the Act to ensure appropriate use of the powers. Indeed, we remain firmly of the view that the legislation and the order before us today are fully compliant with the ECHR. The Act provides full judicial oversight and rights of appeal. The courts must give permission for the Secretary of State to make a non-derogating control order or confirm within seven days an urgent control order made by the Secretary of State. There is automatic, independent judicial review of the decision to make or renew a control order. Individuals subject to control orders can appeal the Secretary of State’s decision to modify a control order, and apply themselves to have one revoked or modified where there is a change in circumstances—and can appeal the Secretary of State’s decision. Some people have previously questioned the sufficiency of the safeguards put in place by the Act, but events over the past year demonstrate the robustness of those safeguards. Noble Lords will be well aware that the judiciary has been actively overseeing the Act. First, we welcome the Court of Appeal’s conclusion in August 2006 that the judicial review procedure within the Act was compatible with Article 6 of the ECHR; that is, the right to a fair trial. That overturned an earlier High Court ruling against the Government. Secondly, the Court of Appeal upheld an earlier High Court decision that the particular control orders imposed on six individuals breached Article 5 of the ECHR; that is, the right to liberty. Noble Lords will be aware that the Government have appealed that decision, and both those points of law will now be heard by the Judicial Committee of your Lordships’ House in due course. Thirdly, there have now been three control order review hearings in which all the substantive evidence has been put before the courts. Previous hearings had dealt only with legal issues. The High Court handed down judgment on the first such case on 16 February. We were of course disappointed that the order was quashed. The judge himself agreed that the individual was reasonably suspected of being a terrorist, and that the decision to keep the individual under a control order on an ongoing basis was necessary. Noble Lords will be aware that an appeal on that is pending. Meanwhile, to protect the public, we have made a new, albeit weaker, order against this individual in the light of the judgment. The reports of the noble Lord, Lord Carlile, remain as valuable a safeguard as ever. We are constantly seeking to improve the way in which we administer control orders. The noble Lord’s new report includes some specific recommendations which we will consider carefully, consulting interested parties as necessary. We will respond formally to the noble Lord in due course. The recommendations include suggestions of areas for possible legislative amendment which we will of course examine. In addition, the noble Lord, Lord Carlile, notes the need for an ““exit strategy”” so individuals are not subject to control orders indefinitely. Control orders are valid only for a maximum of 12 months at a time. Indeed, following the noble Lord’s recommendation last year, we established the control order review group to keep all control orders under quarterly, formal and audited review. This helps to ensure that obligations in control orders remain tailored to the individual, necessary and proportionate. Of course, if the individual is no longer considered to represent a significant risk, the control order would be revoked. The noble Lord, Lord Carlile, states his belief that there is a need for thorough, documented consultation in every case on whether a prosecution could be brought against individuals subject to a control order. Before making an order, the Secretary of State always consults the police on whether evidence is available that could realistically be used for the purposes of prosecuting the individual for a terrorism-related offence. But the Government, with the police and the CPS, will review consultation procedures in the light of the recommendation of the noble Lord, Lord Carlile, and the recent court judgment on this issue. To sum up, the Government believe that control orders are necessary to address the continuing threat posed by terrorism. This belief is supported by the independent reviewer, the noble Lord, Lord Carlile,in his annual report. He explicitly reiterates his conclusion from his previous report when he states: "““I remain of the view that, as a last resort (only), the control order system as operated currently in its non-derogating form is a justifiable and proportional safety valve for the proper protection of civil society””." The Government’s role, first and foremost, must be to protect the public. Control orders help to achieve that while maintaining the necessary safeguards to protect individual rights. I commend the order to the House. Moved, That the draft order laid before the House on 1 February be approved. 8th Report from the Statutory Instruments Committee and 9th Report from the Merits Committee.—(Baroness Scotland of Asthal.)