I admit it, I was wrong.
I have always been against 28 days and obviously 42 days. The decimation of civil liberties, I believe, is worth fighting against and I would have had a sneaking admiration for David Davis principled stand had he not been a supporter of the death penalty.
I did not believe for a second that police needed a full 42 days to question witnesses and sift through the supposed mountains of evidence to ensure a conviction.
If there really is a need for extra time, penalties, replays etc. to go through all this, then the Government need only invest more in manpower, hardware and software rather than take the risk of detaining possibly entirely innocent people for 42 days.
How could the police take so long to complete their enquires I thought.
Now that Hazel Blears’ computer has been stolen, I realise how wrong I was.
Should the police apprehend the lowlife who recently stole the communities secretary’s pc (or laptop) from her constituency office in Salford, how long will it take them to gather all the necessary evidence ?
(The laptop contained ’sensitive documents relating to defence and extremism‘ (BBC) so the theft could be considered a terrorist offence.)
How long will it take Manchester Police to get a STRAIGHT ANSWER to any of their questions from HAZEL BLEARS?
28 days, 42 days, 365 days ?
There is not enough enough manpower in the whole British police force to complete this herculean task in the limited time currently allowed by law.
So, reluctantly, despite my initial misgivings, I must come down in favour of perpetual detention for suspects accused of terrorist offences.
Thank you Hazel, you have opened my eyes.
