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'Secret inquests' plans dropped 'Secret inquests' plans dropped
(10 minutes later)
Ministers have dropped plans which would have allowed coroners' inquests to be held in private. Ministers have dropped plans which would have allowed them to order inquests to be held in private.
The government will not pursue a clause in its controversial counter-terrorism bill to allow inquests to be held in private due to "national security". The counter-terrorism bill clause would have allowed ministers to remove juries - and relatives and the public - from hearings on national security grounds.
The change was intended to stop sensitive information, such as details of phone-taps, being known to jurors. The change was intended to stop sensitive information, such as details of phone-taps, becoming known.
The government has already backed down over plans to detain terror suspects for 42 days without charge. Opposition parties say it is the second government climbdown on the terror bill after 42-day detention was dropped.
Ministers had argued that the inquest powers would be used selectively and that the majority of inquests would still have taken place in public.
But opposition parties and civil liberties campaigners said the reforms would set a dangerous precedent.
BBC home affairs correspondent Danny Shaw said the Home Office had not completely dropped the measure and plan to include it in a "forthcoming" bill on wider coroners reforms.