Jacqui Smith wants to extend 28 day detention limit to 42 days.

So much for announcing matters of importance to parliament and not to the media. Jacqui Smith strikes again. In an attempt to push out as much policy as possible to take the media's attention away from Labour's current woes, they have gone back on a promise made only weeks ago. Nick Robinson is one journalist who is not falling for it. Jacqui Smith told the media this morning of her plans to extend the 28 day detention limit to 42 days. Why 42 days? Well some believe that Jacqui is so desperate to raise the limit that she has lowered her previous wish of 56 days in the hope that she will gain support from the Labour back benches.

Liberty Director Shami Chakrabarti said:

“The Home Secretary’s abrupt announcement wastes so much goodwill and months of so-called consensus building on national security. There is no evidence to extend beyond what is already the longest period in the Western world. The Government risks alienating backbenchers, opposition parties and Liberty with this political gesture.” Flaws in the anticipated Government proposal to extend pre-charge detention include:

● powers for the Home Secretary to extend pre-charge detention in individual cases beyond 28 days without any evidence of a genuine emergency situation.

● weak Parliamentary oversight as MPs are not allowed to vote when powers are activated.

● inadequate judicial oversight, as the courts will not be able to review the decision to extend pre-charge detention.

You can read the full press release from Liberty by clicking HERE.

It is interesting to note that the police have never needed to go beyond the 28 day limit.

Innocent until proved hypothetically guilty - 28 day detention.

Two senior men in the world of law today informed the home affairs committee that an extension to the 28 day detention limit was not required. Sir Ken MacDonald the director of public prosecutions, and Ex-Attorney General Lord Goldsmith disagree with minsters and police who say they want to extend detention without charge. Sir Ken said: "Our experience so far has been that we have managed - and managed reasonably comfortably. "Of course it's always possible to set up hypothetical situations in which it could become extremely challenging - and it's for Parliament to decide whether it wants to proceed on the basis of hypotheticals - rather than the evidence we have received so far. "If after 25 or 26 days you couldn't find a reasonable suspicion to justify a charging decision it might be quite difficult for a prosecutor to persuade a court."

Lord Goldsmith, who quit as attorney general when Gordon Brown became prime minister, said: "If the 90 day proposal had come from the Commons unamended, I would not have found it possible to vote for it. "I didn't see any evidence during my time to indicate that longer than 28 days was necessary."

This should surely put an end to the government's obsession with extending the detention limit, but knowing this lot, and how they think they can do as they please, I will not be holding my breath.

Is LibDem mayoral hopeful Brian Paddick a victim of gun crime?

LibDem mayoral hopeful Brian Paddick has not been very complimentary of his former boss Sir Ian Blair. In a Daily Telegraph interview, the former deputy assistant police commissioner claimed that commissioner Blair is far too palsy-walsy with Gordon Brown's government. Brian is not pulling his punches, saying: "If there's a perception that their chief is aligned to a political party that undermines the rank and file officers. "His position is unsustainable. I think he should resign." Wow, Sir Ian should have taken notice of the famous quote by Jimmy Durante: "Be nice to people on your way up because you meet them on your way down."

Brian also believes that Blair is wrong to support Labour's proposals for ID cards and increasing the 28-day detention period. He claims that he felt pressured into backing Tony Blair's failed attempt to introduce a 90-day detention limit: "His [Sir Ian Blair's] office said 'you are a deputy assistant commissioner in the Metropolitan Police and as such you will support 90 days'. It felt as if I had a gun to my head."

So much for an independent, non-political police force then? The only problem is that if Blair is righteously given the boot, we will probably see another one of Brown's mates step into his vacant size 10s. This really should be the final nail in Sir Ian's police career. If former senior police officers who worked under Blair are accusing him of being political biased, then he should hang up his truncheon.

Jacqui Smith has no idea about detention limit.

After all the fuss Labour have been making over extending the 28 day time limit for how long terror suspects can be held without charge, today the Home Secretary Jacqui Smith said "The answer is I don't know" when she was asked on BBC Radio 4 just how long the proposed limit should be.

Though Jacqui acknowledged that the police hadn't yet needed any longer than 28 days, she insisted that there was "widespread support" for an extension. It's funny but the only support I've seen for this Bill is from the Labour Party itself.

The Tories are proposing post-charge questioning as a better option.

What do you think?

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