It’s looking more and more likely that the combined efforts of Opposition parties and the few Labour MPs who believe in the rule of law will manage to overturn Tony Blair’s attempt to bring the spectre of internment back into British life. What is truly frightening is the attempts to deliberately mislead the public and the Commons by making false comparisons to other legal systems – by comparing the 90 days proposal with six months to two years in other European countries. The only catch is that, in all the countries mentioned, that period of detention without trial is only justified when there is actually evidence that someone has committed a crime- ie after they have been charged, whereas Blair says that the police have made ‘a convincing case’ (remember this is the same police who hunt down and kill innocent commuters for looking a bit foreign) for being allowed to hold people for three months without any evidence at all. Lets hope that – as it has previously done over top up fees and other issues – the resistance from Labour’s backbenches doesn’t evapourate in a cloud of career-enhancing spinelessness. This is far too important.
Sense prevails
Literally in the last minute or two (I was watching the streaming video live on the BBC website) Tony Blair’s plans for 90 days’ internment without charge have been voted down in the commons - by three hundred and twenty something (322 I t…