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42 days still needed, says Smith Davis 'vindicated' over 42 days
(30 minutes later)
Home Secretary Jacqui Smith has said the power to hold terror suspects for up to 42 days is still needed to cope with a "potential catastrophe". Ex-shadow home secretary David Davis has said he feels "vindicated" in quitting as an MP to oppose plans to hold terror suspects for longer.
Plans to extend the pre-charge detention limit from 28 days were thrown out in the Lords on Monday. Peers have rejected the government's call to extend the pre-charge detention limit from 28 to 42 days.
But Ms Smith told the BBC she hoped the government could still "count on people's support" if such a measure had to be introduced in an emergency. Mr Davis, who returned as an MP after a by-election on the issue of civil liberties, said he was "happy to burn out a career for a success like that".
The Conservatives said she should accept that her plans were finished. But the government said the 42 days plan could be re-introduced in future.
Peers rejected the 42 days proposal - passed by the Commons in June - by a majority of 191 votes. Peers rejected the proposal - passed by the Commons in June - by a majority of 191 votes on Monday and the government then announced they would not try to force the measure through.
Emergency billEmergency bill
The Conservatives and Liberal Democrats both oppose the measure, which was also voted against on Monday by former Labour cabinet ministers Lord Irving, Lord Falconer and Lord Goldsmith. The Conservatives and Liberal Democrats both oppose the measure, which was also voted against on Monday by many Labour peers, including former cabinet ministers Lord Irving, Lord Falconer and Lord Goldsmith.
Mr Davis, a Conservative who has long been one of the most outspoken critics of the plan, stood down as Haltemprice and Howden MP in June.
FROM THE TODAY PROGRAMME More from Today programmeFROM THE TODAY PROGRAMME More from Today programme
After the Lords defeat, Ms Smith told MPs the 42 days plan would instead be written into a separate, one-page piece of legislation, which could be pushed through Parliament quickly in the case of a national emergency. He was returned with a 15,355 majority in July, after Labour and the Liberal Democrats declined to field by-election candidates.
She told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "My priority is we need to find a way through this, even if other political parties won't engage with it. Mr Davis told BBC Radio 4's Today programme the government's 42 days plan had been "all about politics, not security" and wanting to appear "tougher than Tory" on anti-terrorism measures.
"That's why I brought forward to the Commons... a bill that is ready prepared, that if - and, I fear, when - we face a situation that is so complex, so difficult so potentially dangerous... that actually requires us to investigate somebody for longer than 28 days, it will be there, ready to be brought in." He said: "I feel vindicated, because before I resigned it looked like it would go through in a ping-pong."
She added that it was the government's job to deal with situations that were "potentially so catastrophic" that longer would be needed to deal with suspects. Parliamentary "ping-pong" is where a bill goes back and forth between the Lords and Commons until one house gives way to the other or the Commons forces the measure through via the Parliament Act.
'Cover risks' One-page bill
Ms Smith went on: "The thing about opposition is you don't have to cover off those risks but government, quite rightly, does and that's why I brought forward the proposals I did. But following the Lords defeat the 42 days proposal will be removed from the government's main Counter-Terrorism Bill.
"I hope we can count on people's support for this." Instead, Home Secretary Jacqui Smith has written the plan into a separate one-page bill which could be pushed through Parliament quickly in the case of a national emergency.
The 42 days proposal will not now be included in the main Counter-Terrorism Bill. She told Today she hoped the government could still "count on people's support" if such a measure had to be introduced.
Former Labour attorney general Lord Goldsmith said the climbdown was "absolutely the right decision" as the measure was "not only unnecessary but also dangerous". She told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "My priority is we need to find a way through this, even if other political parties won't engage with it."
Ms Smith said: "The thing about opposition is you don't have to cover off those risks but government, quite rightly, does and that's why I brought forward the proposals I did."
However, former Labour attorney general Lord Goldsmith said the detentions of up to 42 days were "not only unnecessary but also dangerous".
'Abandoning plans'
The home secretary's alternative legislation would also not work unless there was an extremely different scenario facing the UK, he added.The home secretary's alternative legislation would also not work unless there was an extremely different scenario facing the UK, he added.
Shami Chakrabarti, director of civil rights group Liberty, said she had "been overwhelmed by the public and parliamentary support for our campaign against this dangerous and counter-productive measure"
For the Conservatives, shadow home secretary Dominic Grieve said the prime minister's spin doctors had stopped Ms Smith from "saying in straightforward terms that she is abandoning 42 days".For the Conservatives, shadow home secretary Dominic Grieve said the prime minister's spin doctors had stopped Ms Smith from "saying in straightforward terms that she is abandoning 42 days".
He said the Conservatives were "perfectly prepared to be firm on terrorism" and pass difficult bills. He said his party was "perfectly prepared to be firm on terrorism" and pass difficult bills.
"But they have to be credible, they have to be based on evidence and they must not be put forward in a way that smacks of mere political posturing and gimmicks.""But they have to be credible, they have to be based on evidence and they must not be put forward in a way that smacks of mere political posturing and gimmicks."
Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg added: "The decision to prepare emergency legislation instead is merely a fig leaf which does little to disguise their defeat."Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg added: "The decision to prepare emergency legislation instead is merely a fig leaf which does little to disguise their defeat."
He added: "The push for 42 days' detention was more about ministers posturing and looking tough than it ever was about fighting terrorism."He added: "The push for 42 days' detention was more about ministers posturing and looking tough than it ever was about fighting terrorism."
MPs passed the proposal by a majority of just nine votes in June, with 39 Labour backbenchers rebelling.MPs passed the proposal by a majority of just nine votes in June, with 39 Labour backbenchers rebelling.
Plans to extend the pre-charge terror detention limit to 90 days were rejected by MPs in 2006.