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Reid says human rights laws soft on terrorists Ben Leapman Human rights laws must be "modernised" because Britain is effectively at war with terrorists, John Reid said yesterday. The Home Secretary told a European summit that judges who follow the law "to the letter" are stopping the Government from -protecting the public. Mr Reid said that the distinction in international law between human rights in wartime and in peacetime is outdated, because it is based on an "old model of war". The speech in Venice, which brought an angry response from human rights campaigners, will strengthen his reputation as a tough-talking authoritarian as he prepares to stand down from his job. The Sunday Telegraph understands that Mr Reid's explosive speech came as a complete surprise to virtually the entire Cabinet. One minister said: "This is extraordinary. It shows how demob happy John is that he can make major constitutional pronouncements like this without telling his cabinet colleagues about it. It all looks very messy." The Home Office has repeatedly clashed with judges over attempts to deport foreign terrorist suspects, its plans to detain suspects for 90 days without charge, and "control order" restrictions on suspects.
Mr Reid told the G6 summit of the six largest European Union members: "We need to work to modernise the law - still protecting human rights and still providing equity and justice, but reflecting the reality of the conflicts and struggles we now face." He said that traditional wars, for which provision is made in international law, are unlike "the conflicts which we now observe in the Balkans, Afghanistan or Iraq, or indeed globally in the struggle between international terrorists and democratic states". Referring to the threat from al-Qaeda since the September 11, 2001 attacks, he said: "We are all having difficulty adapting to this new situation for which neither the law of war, as previously defined, nor the normal civil law is particularly designed or well-suited. "Unless we address this gap we are likely to be pushed in two competing directions. Either to look for ways around the law in order to safeguard the security of our citizens... or the row all of us in the EU saw recently on rendition. Or, instead, to follow the law to the letter and thereby fail in our primary duty as elected politicians to protect the public through, for example, our inability to deport terrorist suspects\u2026 We need leadership to do this." Aides said that Mr Reid was pointing the finger at judges. Shami Chakrabarti, the director of Liberty, accused Mr Reid of wanting to "lock people up for long periods without due process and deport foreign nationals to places of torture". She said: "We can take heart from the contrasting remarks of Gordon Brown... when he spoke of the importance of not casting aside hard-won liberties." Nick Clegg, the Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman, said: "This Government's record on everything from 90-day detention without charge to control orders suggests ministers have been content to accept a crude trade-off of liberty in the name of security." The summit, on the island of San Clemente, in Venice, was also attended by Michael Chertoff, the US homeland security secretary, and Franco Frattini, the EU security commissioner. |
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