Morning:
6°c
One of Damilola Taylor's killers was back behind bars today - only 16 days after being released from jail. Ricky Preddie (pictured left) was recalled to prison last night after breaching the terms of his parole
More...
Police have foiled 15 terror plots in Britain since the 2000, Ian Blair reveals
Last updated at 00:37am on 24.04.08
Sir Ian Blair: '28 days insufficient'
The figure emerged as police backed the Government's controversial proposals to hold terrorist suspects for more than 28 days without charge.
Gordon Brown is facing a huge revolt over plans to push the limit to 42 days.
Critics include the former Attorney General Lord Goldsmith, who yesterday launched an extraordinary attack on the scheme, implying MPs should not "trust" the Home Secretary to implement safeguards.
But Sir Ian Blair, the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, told MPs the 28-day limit would be breached "sooner rather than later".
He said that suspects "suddenly emerge from left field" and have to be arrested at a very early stage, leaving officers with huge amounts of investigative work.
Sir Ian said: "We have reached a point where at 28 days we feel sooner or later - and maybe sooner - something is going to happen to make that insufficient."
Scotland Yard anti-terror chief, Assistant Commissioner Bob Quick, initially told the Commons Counter-Terrorism Bill standing committee that 15 plots had been foiled since the July 7 attacks in 2005.
This was later corrected to since 2000.
Several plots have already come to court and are known to the public.
They include plots to behead a British Muslim soldier and a fertiliser bomb attack on the Bluewater shopping centre in Kent.
Sir Ian indicated that he believed police were better placed than lawyers to know if 28 days was still sufficient.
But his comments are unlikely to persuade Labour rebels, who rejected a similar plea by Sir Ian in 2005 for terror suspects to be held for 90 days without charge.
Up to 50 Labour MPs are preparing to vote against the Government - and they are likely to seize on remarks made yesterday by prosecutors.
Sue Hemming, head of the Crown Prosecution Service's counter-terrorism division, said the need to hold suspected terrorists for longer than 14 days had only been necessary on three occasions since the introduction of the 28-day limit in 2005.
Sir Ken Macdonald, the Director of Public Prosecutions, said he believed 28 days was "sufficient".
He added: "We have managed comfortably with 28 days."
Lord Goldsmith, who sat in Tony Blair's Cabinet, dismissed the Government proposal.
It would involve MPs and peers being asked to back a decision by the Home Secretary to raise the limit to 42 days in individual cases.
Lord Goldsmith said this was "not a great deal of a safeguard".
He asked the standing committee: "Are you going to ask Parliament to simply trust the Secretary of State?"
Carnage: The blown up bus in Tavistock Square on July 7, 2005
Earlier this week, a leaked list from Labour Whips showed they expect at least 50 of their MPs to vote against the proposal.
A further 44 are said to be undecided.
With both the Tories and the Liberal Democrats against the scheme, Mr Brown is thought to on course for defeat in the Commons by around 20 votes.
Among the former ministers expected to rebel are Glenda Jackson, Frank Dobson and Michael Meacher.
Even some members of the Government are unhappy.
The Whips say Joan Ruddock, junior environment minister, believes the figure of 42 days has been "plucked from thin air" but she will vote in favour.
A Home Office spokesman said the Commons vote will be held in mid-June.
Reader views (15)
Why should anyone believe a single word of what this man says? Has he not repeatedly been shown to make it up as he goes along?
The real numbers may be more or may be less than this, but I really don't think we should rely on his blatherings.
- Chuck Unsworth, London, 23/04/2008 21:27
Report abuse
Foiled 15 terrorist plots eh? Wonder if one of them was the young lady arrested under the terrorism acts for walking on a cycle path? Thank heavens the police and security services are on the ball to protect us from such dastardly acts!
- Cllr Chris Cooke, Tamworth, UK, 23/04/2008 19:48
Report abuse
Bobby Smith is spot on; Bliar2 is not a Police officer, he's a NuLabour mouthpiece who will say anything they tell him to in order to cover his own back.
He's demonstrated more than once that he cannot be trusted to tell the truth, especially if there's political capital to be made out of a dose of smoke and mirrors.
- Keith Lonsdale, Doncaster, 23/04/2008 16:14
Report abuse
Oh for heavens sake you people, I'm sure they have stopped more attacks. No one wants a more big brother ID card style country or the 28 day detention, but would you rather have more incidents like the 7th July bombings or an even worse attack? Stop having a go at the security forces and start having a go at the people who deserve it, those who teach hate, intolerance (of any religion) and those in power who want to keep the average person down and live in fear.
- S-M Hearmon, London, UK, 23/04/2008 16:02
Report abuse
Why and who allows Ian Blair (who should be stripped of his knighthood for his consistent lying) to keep speaking publicly? Here's some advice Blair: no one believes you any more just shut up and go away. You're the biggest risk in this city not the supposed "terrorists".
- Josh, London, 23/04/2008 13:28
Report abuse
This would be Sir Ian "nothing to do with me guv" Blair, the man who's been criticised by pretty much everybody for the shooting of an innocent Brazilian, hmm, do you think there could be any correlation between the two?
P.S. Neil, I think you may need professional help.
- Tel Rorism, Barking, 23/04/2008 12:58
Report abuse
B-Liar by name
B-Liar by nature
....appointed by his name-sake and hated by his own force.
- Weddigen, London, 23/04/2008 12:28
Report abuse
I have an opinion he is lying.
- Jaberwokie3, Switzerland, 23/04/2008 07:55
Report abuse
It doesn't wash with me.
If the police have evidence that someone is "facilitating" terrorism, that person is conspiring and breaking several other laws. That's grounds for arrest, charge, and remand for many months before a trial. If the evidence is weak, the suspect may eventually be cleared and released, but there's no difficulty getting him off the streets.
So why do they want to be able to detain someone for 42 days or longer without a hint of evidence? (If the problem is admissibility of phone-tap evidence, then change that aspect of the law instead).
- Nigel, London, 22/04/2008 19:27
Report abuse
7/7 was carried out by MI6/Mossad. The cameras on the bus had been disabled, there were "terror drills" being carried out by Visor Consultants Ltd; the men who supposedly did it were non-religious students with return tickets who had been told that they were part of the drill to test security. 7/7 was a pure and simple false flag operation.
- Neil, london uk, 22/04/2008 17:15
Report abuse
lol Roz!
These "plots" are created by the security services and their stooges. We are being lied to every day by these people, who are doing nothing but softening us up to accept more draconian laws and more loss of freedom.
- Neil, London UK, 22/04/2008 17:12
Report abuse
What bothers me about this report is that is does not address where these terror threats are coming from? It looks like it has become politically correct not to identify a Muslim connection. This concerns me and I am sure it concerns others?
- Brandon Thomas, London UK, 22/04/2008 16:40
Report abuse
Sir Ian 'I was the last to know we'd shot an innocent man at Stockwell tube station... first to state that all the 7/7 bombers were 'clean skins'... using my role in an overtly political manner' Blair is also keen to clamp down on the recent spate of tooth fairy robberies and will now act against the man in the moon on a charge of cheese theft.
Flipant this maybe, but it makes no sense to listen to this man, one of the last hangovers form the Blair/Bush axis of deceit. 99% of those in the know have stated their strong opposition to internment, and this only magnifies the pathetic noises from a discredited plodder.
- Bobby Smith, London, UK, 22/04/2008 16:05
Report abuse
Anyone notice that these reports of foiled attacks always get announced when the government is in trouble and looking for sympathy? And there are always very scant details on the alleged attacks, doubtless for "security reasons".
- Nobby Clark, Perth, Scotland, 22/04/2008 15:50
Report abuse
Make that 16: my 4 year old had his Thomas The Tank Engine umbrella removed from him by security at Gatwick airport.
- Roz, Chamonix, France, 22/04/2008 15:34
Report abuse
