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| Goldsmith terror laws quit threat | |
| (19 minutes later) | |
| 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. | 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 succeeded with their attempts at 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 MPs Mr Blair was "aware of my concerns" but he had not wanted to put the then PM "over a barrel". | 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. | 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. | 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 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." |
| 'Arbitrary' limit | |
| 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. | 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. | "I didn't see any evidence during my time to indicate that longer than 28 days was necessary," he told MPs. |
| Our experience has been that 28 days has suited us quite nicely Sir Ken MacDonald, director of public prosecutions | |
| 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. | 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". | 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. | 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" suspects and "continually questioning them when there isn't any new material at all". | |
| 'Hypothetical cases' | |
| Tony Blair suffered his first Commons defeat as prime minister in 2005 when MPs voted to reject 90 day detention. | Tony Blair suffered his first Commons defeat as prime minister in 2005 when MPs voted to reject 90 day detention. |
| Sir Ken MacDonald, the director of public prosecutions, also cast doubt on the government's proposals. | |
| He said he had asked for more time for police to question suspects when the limit was 14 days - but he would not be asking the government to extend it beyond 28 days. | |
| "There are reasonable arguments for detention and I respect those arguments. Our experience has been that 28 days has suited us quite nicely," Sir Ken told the MPs. | |
| He said it was up to MPs whether they extended detention beyond 28 days but it would be based on "hypothetical cases". | |
| He also suggested prosecutors may have difficulty convincing a judge to extend detention, even if the legal maximum was increased. | |
| "If after 25 or 26 days you couldn't find a reasonable suspicion to justify a charging decision it might be quite difficult for a prosecutor to persuade a court," said Sir Ken. |