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12/06/2008
DUP Backs Government's Detention Vote
The Government has cleared the first hurdle in the contentious terror suspect detention debate - but only by a small majority in the Commons - aided by the Democratic Unionist Party's nine MPs.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown won the proposal to extend the current 28-day detention pre-charge limit to 42 days – but just by nine votes - the same number of Northern Ireland DUP MPs whose votes were being relied on by the PM.
DUP MPs have strongly denied that there were incentives for their vote – such as inducements with extra funding for Northern Ireland.
Northern Ireland Secretary Shaun Woodward also denied that there was anything untoward and told the BBC that "there was no deal" and that the DUP decided to vote with the Government "on principle".
Labour rebels have also denied being "bribed" with promises about their own "pet projects".
Yesterday, Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg made a direct appeal to DUP Leader, Peter Robinson, to urge him not to support the Government's attempt to introduce the 42 day detention - without success.
Meanwhile, human rights groups are still opposing the extension and said that they would urge the House of Lords to reject the proposal.
A statement released by Amnesty International yesterday said: "No Government Minister should be able to invoke a power which would allow the police to hold people for six weeks without charging them with a criminal offence.
"People who are detained have a right to be charged promptly, or to be released: the law in the UK is moving further and further away from this basic principle and in so doing is increasing the scope for arbitrary detention and other violations of human rights.
"The idea that countering terrorism somehow requires removing or eroding basic guarantees of individual liberty and physical safety is a dangerous and discredited one; the Government should reject it once and for all."
Home Secretary Jacqui Smith has said that the proposed 42-day limit would only be used in "exceptional circumstances".
Mr Brown, in an article in The Times newspaper last week, said that he "is under no illusion" that today's threats are "different in their scale and nature" from anything that has been faced before.
See: Decision On Terror Detention To Be Made Today
(DS)(BMcC)
Prime Minister Gordon Brown won the proposal to extend the current 28-day detention pre-charge limit to 42 days – but just by nine votes - the same number of Northern Ireland DUP MPs whose votes were being relied on by the PM.
DUP MPs have strongly denied that there were incentives for their vote – such as inducements with extra funding for Northern Ireland.
Northern Ireland Secretary Shaun Woodward also denied that there was anything untoward and told the BBC that "there was no deal" and that the DUP decided to vote with the Government "on principle".
Labour rebels have also denied being "bribed" with promises about their own "pet projects".
Yesterday, Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg made a direct appeal to DUP Leader, Peter Robinson, to urge him not to support the Government's attempt to introduce the 42 day detention - without success.
Meanwhile, human rights groups are still opposing the extension and said that they would urge the House of Lords to reject the proposal.
A statement released by Amnesty International yesterday said: "No Government Minister should be able to invoke a power which would allow the police to hold people for six weeks without charging them with a criminal offence.
"People who are detained have a right to be charged promptly, or to be released: the law in the UK is moving further and further away from this basic principle and in so doing is increasing the scope for arbitrary detention and other violations of human rights.
"The idea that countering terrorism somehow requires removing or eroding basic guarantees of individual liberty and physical safety is a dangerous and discredited one; the Government should reject it once and for all."
Home Secretary Jacqui Smith has said that the proposed 42-day limit would only be used in "exceptional circumstances".
Mr Brown, in an article in The Times newspaper last week, said that he "is under no illusion" that today's threats are "different in their scale and nature" from anything that has been faced before.
See: Decision On Terror Detention To Be Made Today
(DS)(BMcC)
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24 March 2009
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08 July 2008
Lords Debate Splits Unionism
As the Government's controversial 42-day detention Bill is debated in the House of Lords later today, previous support for Gordon Brown's make-or-break Bill in the Commons by Northern Ireland's biggest party, the DUP, is again underling the fractious nature of its relationship with fellow unionists.
Lords Debate Splits Unionism
As the Government's controversial 42-day detention Bill is debated in the House of Lords later today, previous support for Gordon Brown's make-or-break Bill in the Commons by Northern Ireland's biggest party, the DUP, is again underling the fractious nature of its relationship with fellow unionists.
31 October 2017
Man Who Had Three Fingers Broken In Custody Was 'Accidental'
A man who sustained three broken fingers in police custody was accidental, according to the Police Ombudsman. Dr Michael Maguire concluded that custody staff used reasonable force when a man refused to return to his cell, and had not deliberately caused the man's injuries by closing the cell door on his hand.
Man Who Had Three Fingers Broken In Custody Was 'Accidental'
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02 June 2016
Claims Man Did Not Receive Any Food While In Custody Rejected
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26 January 2005
NI Human Rights Commission hit out at ‘house arrest’ plans
The Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission has criticised today’s announcement by Home Secretary, Charles Clarke, that the detention of foreign terror suspects without trial is to be replaced by a form of “house arrest”.
NI Human Rights Commission hit out at ‘house arrest’ plans
The Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission has criticised today’s announcement by Home Secretary, Charles Clarke, that the detention of foreign terror suspects without trial is to be replaced by a form of “house arrest”.
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Northern Ireland WeatherToday:The day will be very windy with strong to gale force westerly winds becoming occasionally severe along the north coast. Sunny spells will be interspersed with scattered showers. Maximum temperature 8 °C.Tonight:West to northwest gale force winds, severe along the north coast, will continue overnight. Frequent showers persist, merging into longer periods of rain at times and turning wintry. Minimum temperature 1 °C.
