Counter-Terrorism Bill

My Lords, I wish to concentrate on two issues, neither of which contains any legal arguments: the role of the police and the impact of the Counter-Terrorism Bill on our diverse society, a point that was well made by the noble Lord, Lord Ahmed. No one disputes that it is the duty of the Government to ensure the safety of all their citizens. However, we should bear in mind three factors. First, there is no such thing as total security, a point that was well made by the noble Baroness, Lady Manningham-Buller, in her maiden speech. Secondly, the Government alone do not have the capacity to provide security for all their citizens. Thirdly, active citizen participation is essential if we are to tackle terrorism and the factors that give rise to it. We must never forget that community participation is conditional on how the community views government action in relation to the protection of civil liberties. These are the essential values that we hold as a democratic nation and for which we have fought for decades. They are not something that we should surrender lightly. Unfortunately, the Counter-Terrorism Bill is one step in that direction. We have seen over the past few years attempts by the Government to erode values that have stood the test of time. Look at the adverse and disproportionate impact of proposals such as for the abolition of jury trials, the collection of DNA samples and the data of innocent citizens, identity cards that seek disproportionate information about individuals, and now counterterrorism measures that strike at the heart of our fair and just judicial process. My main concern is the role of the police in aiding and abetting the political process. We owe a huge debt to our police officers for the way in which they protect our community, but I part company with them when they indulge in the political process. During the Brixton disorders in the 1980s, we were privileged to have the wisdom of Lord Scarman, who redefined the traditional approach of policing by consent. We must add to this the principles of non-partisanship and the full accountability of the rule of law, which has served us so well for the past 200 years. I am afraid that these principles are being sacrificed. No one can dispute that there is now considerable interference on the part of the police in our political process. I do not question the right of chief officers to brief the Government—some do it well—within the confines of their relationship with the Home Office. But I question the need for serving officers attending Parliament in chauffeur-driven cars to voice their opinions to parliamentarians. This sacrifices their independence. It erodes the confidence of communities in the principles of non-partisanship and brings the police into disrepute. In the Police Foundation’s John Harris memorial lecture last week, Shami Chakrabarti said: "““For in order for democracy to flourish for more than a brief moment, fundamental rights and freedoms and the rule of law must be protected by independent professionals. Not just the right to free and fair elections but interconnected rights to speech, protest, privacy, conscience, association, equal treatment, fair trials and against arbitrary detention and inhuman and degrading treatment. It is easy to see politicians and judges as the moving and fixed parts of the machine respectively. However the constitutional positioning of the police service is equally important. It seems clear to me that in contrast with other systems, the British policing tradition places the service under the rule of law rather than the political pillars of the constitution””." It is easy to dismiss these words, coming as they do from a seasoned campaigner from Liberty. However, she has hit the nail on the head, because past experiences clearly demonstrate that we remove non-partisanship at our peril. The nearest that we came to losing the semblance of local policing was during the miners’ strike. Strategy and operational methods directed centrally left an ugly scar on our mining communities. It is not my intention to comment on the rights and wrongs of that strike. Suffice it to say that, after decades of such actions, the trust between local police and what is left of the mining communities remains at a low ebb. I do not exclude the Association of Chief Police Officers. After the London bombings of 7/7, it was the first in line asking for new policies, with the 90-day detention at the top of its list. It is important to ask a simple question. Does ACPO represent the police point of view? If so, what consultation took place to ensure that this was so? Obviously the Freedom of Information Act 2000 does not apply in this case and let us not forget that ACPO is substantially funded by the Home Office. I am delighted that the noble Lord, Lord Dear, a one-time ACPO member, chief constable and HM inspector of police, does not subscribe to ACPO’s point of view, and I commend the contribution of the noble Lord, Lord Condon. The noble Lord, Lord Dear, eloquently set out a case for why the provision for 42-day detention in the Counter-Terrorism Bill cannot stand up to scrutiny. I had long dealings with ACPO when I was at the Commission for Racial Equality and I had contact with a large number of chief officers when I was a member of the Police Complaints Authority. A number of senior officers have told me that operationally a 42-day detention is not necessary. That clear dissent has not been allowed to surface. My concern is not just 42 days. Police have at their disposal substantial powers over citizens. If wrongly used, these could be oppressive. Take stop and search. If there is one clear example of adversarial relationships between police and ethnic communities, it is the use of such powers. I have nothing against the use of stop and search if it is based on sound intelligence, but the Government’s monitoring clearly demonstrates that it has been used disproportionately against minorities. To this day the Home Office is in a quandary over how to ensure that there is discretion and fairness in the way in which stop-and-search procedures are used. We must also not forget the implication of the measures that the Government are seeking. If, by a miracle, the Counter-Terrorism Bill were to be on the statute book, what example would we be setting to the rest of the world? Dictators across the international scene would breathe a sigh of relief because long detention without a fair trial would play into their hands. The Mugabes of this world would be laughing their heads off on their way to their presidential offices. My noble friend Lord Lester of Herne Hill spoke about the impact of this legislation on human rights. The Government can take credit for setting up the Equality and Human Rights Commission. My noble friend Lord Lester has been a pioneer in this field and we owe a debt of gratitude to him. I do not wish to go into details about the opinions that the EHRC sought from the UK’s leading public law and human rights barristers, but it should leave us in no doubt about the impact of the Bill on human rights provisions. Suffice it to say at this stage that the commission is on record as saying that it will use its powers to challenge the lawfulness of the Bill’s provisions if they are enacted. My main concern is the impact of this Bill on community relations. Like it or not, at the best of times there remains an uneasy relationship between different communities. We continue to argue about our multicultural, multiethnic and multiracial society. We should add to the mix the war in Iraq and the growth of terrorism. The sense of shared values and the notion of citizenship are becoming a mask of acceptable language used to discuss what to do about the problems of the Muslim community in Britain. To balance this, statements are made about promoting community cohesion, fostering shared values and preventing violent extremism. However, community cohesion is often addressed within the framework of race and religion and, more specifically, within the context of Islam. A little while ago, Jonathan Freedland noted in the Guardian, "““a kind of drumbeat of hysteria in which both politicians and media have turned again and again on a single, small minority, first prodding them, then pounding them as if they represented the single biggest problem in national life””." How else can we explain the comment made by Shahid Malik MP, the government Minister who said that it has become legitimate to target Muslims in the media and society in a way that would be unacceptable for any other minority? He went on to say that many British Muslims now feel like, "““aliens in their own country””," as society turns ““a blind eye”” to their persecution. The Home Office should take notice of one of its own Ministers who says that this has the effect of segregating society and undermining efforts to deal with extremism and terrorism. We have a duty to ensure that no community feels isolated and lives in fear. The measures that we take should not stereotype communities as extremists. Large numbers of Muslims and other minorities are law-abiding citizens. Despite pressures, they have been loyal to this country. Extending the period of detention for the very few will have an impact on the whole community. We will pay a heavy price for these short-term measures in the long-term prosperity of our country.