British government defeated over controversial anti-terrorism bill

UK News

Oct 13, 2008, 20:24 GMT

London - The British government was forced Monday to drop controversial plans to allow terrorism suspects to be detained for up to six weeks without charge after the measure was defeated in the upper house of parliament, the House of Lords. Home Secretary Jacquie Smith said after the vote, which rejected the measure 309-118, that the proposal to extend detention from currently 28 days to 42 days would be taken out of a package of anti- terrorism legislation. The government would reintroduce the plan in a separate legislative proposal at a later date, Smith said. She accused critics of the measure of being prepared to 'ignore the terrorist threat' to Britain. The vote in the Lords represents a stinging defeat for the government of Prime Minister Gordon Brown, which had fought hard to get the controversial law through the lower house, where 36 Labour members voted against it late last year. The government had argued that increasingly complex and internationally-coordinated acts of terrorism made longer periods of detention necessary, but opponents said the extension of the time limit for detention would undermine civil liberties and human rights.

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iowacornOct 13th, 2008 - 20:54:51

well, looks like the brits are smarter than us yanks..

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bubbaOct 14th, 2008 - 00:16:15

na....brits aren't smarter...its just that the yanks don't want to become muslims like the brits do.

'WELCOME TO BAGHDAD U.K'

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American DissidentOct 14th, 2008 - 09:14:41

I respect the Brits whether they are smarter than us Yanks or not. Keeping terrorism at bay and protecting human rights are worthy goals that need to be addressed for future generations to survive in an environment where a free people can feel safe from the growing threats that consume the world.

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British government defeated over controversial anti-terrorism bill

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