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OBSERVER, UK -One of Britain's most senior police officers has demanded
a return to a form of internment with the power to lock up terror
suspects indefinitely without charge. The proposal, put forward by the
head of the Association of Police Chief Officers and supported by
Scotland Yard, is highly controversial. An earlier plan to extend the
amount of time suspects can be held without charge to 90 days led to
Tony Blair's first Commons defeat as Prime Minister. Eventually, the
government was forced to compromise on 28 days, a period which Gordon
Brown has already said he wants to extend.
The Observer understands that the Acpo proposal has been discussed in
meetings between Brown and senior police officers. Whitehall sources
said the PM was receptive to the association's demands, but believes an
upper detention limit is essential to avoid a de facto Guantanamo Bay
based in the UK. . .
The proposal has provoked anger among civil rights groups. 'It is coming
to the point when we have to ask serious questions about the role of
Acpo in a constitutional democracy,' said Shami Chakrabarti, director of
the civil rights group Liberty. 'We elect politicians to determine
legislation and we expect chief constables to uphold the rule of law,
not campaign for internment.' Internment was last used in Britain during
the Gulf war against Iraqis suspected of links to Saddam Hussein's army.
It has also been used against terrorist suspects in Northern Ireland and
Germans during the Second World War.
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/
0,,2126704,00.html?gusrc=rss&feed=15
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OBSERVER, UK -One of Britain's most senior police officers has demanded
a return to a form of internment with the power to lock up terror
suspects indefinitely without charge. The proposal, put forward by the
head of the Association of Police Chief Officers and supported by
Scotland Yard, is highly controversial. An earlier plan to extend the
amount of time suspects can be held without charge to 90 days led to
Tony Blair's first Commons defeat as Prime Minister. Eventually, the
government was forced to compromise on 28 days, a period which Gordon
Brown has already said he wants to extend.
The Observer understands that the Acpo proposal has been discussed in
meetings between Brown and senior police officers. Whitehall sources
said the PM was receptive to the association's demands, but believes an
upper detention limit is essential to avoid a de facto Guantanamo Bay
based in the UK. . .
The proposal has provoked anger among civil rights groups. 'It is coming
to the point when we have to ask serious questions about the role of
Acpo in a constitutional democracy,' said Shami Chakrabarti, director of
the civil rights group Liberty. 'We elect politicians to determine
legislation and we expect chief constables to uphold the rule of law,
not campaign for internment.' Internment was last used in Britain during
the Gulf war against Iraqis suspected of links to Saddam Hussein's army.
It has also been used against terrorist suspects in Northern Ireland and
Germans during the Second World War.
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/
0,,2126704,00.html?gusrc=rss&feed=15
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