Counter-Terrorism Bill

My Lords, I am a member of the Joint Committee on Human Rights and want to confine my contribution to some points that have particularly concerned the committee and continue to concern it in relation to the Bill we are discussing today. I shall confine my remarks to matters relating to the definition of terrorism, control orders, coroners’ inquests and safeguards against the use of information obtained under torture. I shall not deal with 42 days. The noble Lord, Lord Dubs, who is also a member of the Joint Committee, has already addressed that matter extremely effectively. I begin by saying, as the Joint Committee on Human Rights makes clear at the beginning of all its reports on this subject, that we start, "““from a full recognition that the Government has a duty to protect people from terrorism, a duty imposed by human rights law itself””." The committee also agrees with one of the central tenets of the Newton committee of privy counsellors that counterterrorism measures ought not to be extraordinary measures in a special category of their own but as far as possible part of the ordinary criminal law of the land. That is the preferred route whenever it can be followed. I am sure all members of the Joint Committee would agree with one of the committee’s former and most distinguished members, the noble Lord, Lord Judd, who said on 27 February when debating the renewal of control orders: "““We must remember that those cornerstones of British justice which have been so admired throughout the world did not come lightly; they came from decades and centuries of struggle and rugged determination to make the law a civilised example … Part of me recoils at the concept that, however frightening the terrorism with which we are confronted, we should by the presence of that danger begin to dismantle or erode what we have seen as fundamental to our system of justice””.—[Official Report, 27/2/08; col. 729.]" The noble Lord reminds us constantly of this point and we should be grateful to him for this and for his contribution today. That is why the Joint Committee has paid such close attention to counterterrorism legislation and its possible consequences for our fundamental freedoms. Turning to the Bill, first, we have long had concerns about the breadth of the definition of terrorism and the impact it may have on freedom of expression. As noble Lords will know, the definition is very broad, covering violence against people and property, and actions taken outside the UK. The public against whom a serious risk to health and safety is threatened can be situated abroad. The public can be that of a country other than the UK. The government subject to such actions can be a foreign government, however cruel or tyrannous it is. This definition of terrorism is the basis of the offences of publishing statements which are an encouragement to terrorism and glorifying terrorism. It is a matter of considerable concern on human rights grounds. The noble Lord, Lord Goodhart, has proposed some changes which I hope we will consider further. Secondly, the committee welcomes the Government’s proposal to place the disclosure and use of information by the intelligence services on a statutory footing, a measure we see as potentially enhancing human rights. It has become clear in recent months that there is an issue in many areas about information and its use, and a need for the Government to be more conscious of the importance of respect for people’s privacy. We welcome the establishment of a legal basis for the disclosure and use of information by the intelligence services and the creation of a legal framework prescribing the scope of the power and providing adequate safeguards against the power being exercised arbitrarily or disproportionately. However, the committee notes that there is, "““an additional and very significant human rights concern about these provisions, which is not acknowledged in the Explanatory Notes to the Bill, concerning the risk of complicity by our intelligence services in the use of torture, inhuman or degrading treatment or other human rights violations in other countries””." The committee feels that there should be, "““safeguards to make sure, first, that information acquired and used by our intelligence services has not been obtained by torture or other human rights violations, and, second, that information disclosed by our intelligence services is not then used in acts, such as interrogation by torture, which amount to serious human rights violations””." We do not doubt the Government’s commitment to work to eliminate torture and to oppose it when possible but we are of the view that it would be in the spirit of this commitment for the Government to agree to amend the Bill to provide that nothing in Clause 19 authorises a disclosure that breaches the Human Rights Act, the United Nations Convention Against Torture or any other relevant international obligation. The committee also suggests a number of improvements to the system of control orders. On Report in the other place, Dominic Grieve MP said: "““I suspect that no one in this House likes control orders; certainly, none of us should””.—[Official Report, Commons, 10/6/08; col. 204.]" In the committee’s view, the control orders regime will not be human-rights compatible unless measures are introduced to ensure that, first, there is a priority given to trying to instigate a prosecution. So far, no one subject to a control order has subsequently been prosecuted for a terrorism offence, other than for a breach of a control order. Secondly, we would like to see changes to the hearings, so that they are fairer and more in accordance with what we know as justice. Thirdly, we would like to see a maximum daily limit of 12 hours on the curfew that can be imposed in a control order. Fourthly, we suggest that control orders should be time-limited and that a limit of two years might be a starting point for debate. Finally, I add my voice and that of the Joint Committee on Human Rights to the concerns that have been raised about the human rights implications of the Bill’s provisions on coroners’ inquests. The measures were of much concern in the other place, where David Howarth MP described them as, "““simultaneously repugnant, unnecessary, ineffective and premature””.—[Official Report, Commons, 10/6/08; col. 252.]" The arguments against the measure have been well put by other noble Lords, and I look forward to the Government’s promised amendments in Committee. Overall, as the Minister is no doubt aware, there are serious human rights concerns about the Bill. The preamble to the Council of Europe Convention on the Prevention of Terrorism affirms that, "““all measures taken to prevent or suppress terrorist offences have to respect the rule of law and democratic values, human rights and fundamental freedoms””." There is some work to do before the Bill reaches that standard in all respects, and I look forward to debating it further.