Theresa May to be quizzed over bail law plans

Theresa May: Will be quizzed over bail law plans
10 April 2012
WEST END FINAL

Get our award-winning daily news email featuring exclusive stories, opinion and expert analysis

I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice.

Home Secretary Theresa May will be quizzed by MPs over her plans to rush through emergency laws to reverse a controversial legal ruling which overturns 25 years of police practice.

Mrs May will face questions over why it took the Home Office so long to act over a judgment which is hampering police operations and leaving officers "running round like headless chickens".

She is also expected to face criticism over how a Palestinian activist accused of a history of "virulent anti-semitism" was able to enter the UK despite being banned.

Commons Leader Sir George Young told MPs the Home Secretary will bring a copy of the Police Detention and Bail Bill, which will go through all stages of the Commons on Thursday, with her when she appears before the Commons Home Affairs Select Committee.

The initial ruling, made by a district judge and backed by a judicial review at the High Court, means officers can no longer bail suspects for more than four days without either charging or releasing them.

Three Supreme Court justices are considering an application from Greater Manchester Police (GMP) to suspend the judgment pending a full appeal at the same court on July 25.

The row started when district judge Jonathan Finestein, sitting at Salford Magistrates' Court, refused a routine application from GMP for a warrant of further detention of murder suspect Paul Hookway on April 5.

High Court judge Mr Justice McCombe confirmed the ruling in a judicial review on May 19, which meant time spent on police bail counted towards the maximum 96-hour limit of pre-charge detention.

For the last 25 years, police and the courts have counted only the time spent being questioned or in police custody towards the limit, with many suspects being released on bail for months before being called back for further interviews.

Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper claimed it has led to police failing to arrest domestic violence suspects who breach bail conditions, leaving alleged victims vulnerable.

The Government has been criticised for not acting sooner to reverse the ruling.

But a Home Office spokeswoman said: "We are not prepared to stand by when the police are fighting crime with one arm tied behind their back.
"This Bill will restore vital powers to the police that they have operated under without complaint from the courts for the past 25 years."

Policing Minister Nick Herbert announced the emergency legislation would be used an hour after receiving legal advice from the Association of Chief Police Officers (Acpo), Mrs May said yesterday.

She added: "There is no question that I will always give the police the tools and powers they need to catch criminals, investigate crimes and protect the public."

Last week, Mr Herbert admitted that officials were told of the oral judgment in May, but its full impact became clear only when the written judgment was handed down on June 17 and ministers were alerted on June 24.

Sir Norman Bettison, chief constable of West Yorkshire Police, highlighted the problems the ruling caused his officers last week, saying they were left "running round like headless chickens ... wondering what this means to the nature of justice".

About 85,200 people are on bail in England and Wales at any one time and the common practice in most major inquiries of releasing suspects on bail and calling them back for questioning weeks later is "pretty much a dead duck" after the ruling, police chiefs said.

The Home Secretary will also be questioned by MPs over how a Palestinian activist accused of a history of "virulent anti-semitism" was able to enter the UK despite being banned.

Sheikh Raed Salah, leader of the Islamic Movement in Israel, was arrested last week after entering Britain to speak at a series of public events including a "roundtable discussion" in the Houses of Parliament. Mrs May has launched a "full investigation" into what happened.

Lawyers for Mr Salah, an Israeli citizen, have strongly denied accusations of anti-semitism against their client and said they would fight the deportation order.

They said Mr Salah and his legal representatives had never been notified of an exclusion order and he had made no attempt to conceal his identity.
Keith Vaz, the committee's chairman, said: "Recent developments at the Home Office make the appearance of the Home Secretary very timely.

"We will be asking her why someone who is banned from the UK is able to enter unnoticed, and why it has taken the Home Office six weeks from decision for action to be taken on bail legislation."

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in

MORE ABOUT