Terror Bill passed

Friday, 11^th March
Blair and Clarke have finally forced their Prevention of Terrorism Bill through Parliament. It will need to be renewed after a year, but it's still the most frightening piece of legislation to go onto the statute books in modern times.

Useful Links

PARLIAMENT

• Text of the Act
• Bill passed
  BBC report
• Commons debates
  - 28 February
  - 9 March
• How MPs voted
  on 28 February
• Lords debate
  3 March
• Lords, 7 March
  BBC report
• Lords, 8 March
  BBC report

VIEWS

• Legal Opinion

On Monday, the House of Lords voted by 249 to 119 to force changes on the Bill that would require all Control Orders to go before a judge. More amendments were forced on the Bill on Tuesday. The Bill ping-ponged between the two Houses before finally being passed after a thirty-hour debate.

Even with Lords' amendments, the Bill is a gross violation of Civil Liberties. It seeks to punish people not for what they have done, but for what the government thinks they might do. And it provides a licence for the harrassment of people who have committed no crime.

Opposition to the Prevention of Terrorism Bill has been unprecedented. It marks the start of a new stage in the the fight against our government's policies of repression and militarism.

The Bill is due for renewal in a year's time. Let's use the next general election to make sure that our representatives in Parliament will stand up for civil liberties.