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Goldsmith terror detention doubt Goldsmith terror detention doubt
(31 minutes later)
Former Attorney General Lord Goldsmith has told MPs he is "not persuaded" of the need to extend detention without charge beyond the current 28 day limit. Ex-Attorney General Lord Goldsmith has told MPs he is "not persuaded" of the need to extend detention without charge beyond the current 28 day limit.
And he said he would have resigned had Tony Blair's government pushed ahead with plans for 90 day detention. And he said he would have resigned had Tony Blair's government succeeded with their attempts at 90 day detention.
He told an MPs' committee Mr Blair was "aware of my concerns" but he had not wanted to put him "over a barrel". Ministers say the time is right to extend the 28 day limit for detaining terror suspects without charge. He told MPs Mr Blair was "aware of my concerns" but he had not wanted to put the then PM "over a barrel".
Ministers say "the time is right" to extend the 28 day limit for detaining terror suspects without charge.
Lord Goldsmith, who quit as attorney general when Gordon Brown took over as prime minister, was giving evidence to the Commons home affairs committee.
He told the MPs: "If the 90 day proposal had come from the Commons unamended, I would not have found it possible to vote for it."
He said his view was based on the evidence he had seen when he was in government and he accepted the situation could have changed.
"I didn't see any evidence during my time to indicate that longer than 28 days was necessary," he told MPs.
That included the case most often cited by the government, an alleged airline terror plot, when questioning reportedly went "right up to the wire," said Lord Goldsmith.
He said any figure on detention was "arbitrary" but he thought 28 days was "right".
Lord Goldsmith said post-charge questioning, which is also being considered, could remove further the need for an extension.
But he also warned against "browbeating" suspect and "continually questioning them when there isn't any new material at all".
Tony Blair suffered his first Commons defeat as prime minister in 2005 when MPs voted to reject 90 day detention.