42 Days: An “abundance of caution”

MPs should vote down 42 days detention without charge. The innocent will suffer, the basis of law will be threatened and terrorism aided, as Brown follows Blair in counter-productive defiance of one of the fundamental principles of democracy writes Anthony Barnett, founder of Open Democracy.

It is not hard to imagine the situation. The police have uncovered a network of young, would-be terrorists and their supporters. It may be just after a murderous outrage they failed to prevent, or when they bust a conspiracy before anyone is murdered. As they round up suspects three innocent young men are included. They are relatives or friends of the plotters or maybe they are just around when the raids take place. Naturally, the police focus on gathering the evidence to charge the ringleaders. They hold the three on the basis of proximity and as they are not charged they can’t make a case for their lack of guilt.

A month goes by. Perhaps one of the three is unable to attend his exams and loses his place in his college. Finally they are released – resentful and fearful. They are exactly the sort of people who might have been persuaded to alert the security forces to future plots. Now they are unlikely ever to speak to the police again if they can help it. “Justice”, they will say to their friends, family and future children, “you won’t get it here! I was imprisoned for four weeks just because they didn’t like my face – I was completely innocent, I wasn’t charged, then they threw me out”.

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