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London: Britain's upper house of parliament on Monday firmly rejected a government proposal to tighten anti-terrorism laws, saying it would not support suspects being held for up to six weeks without charge.
In a vote carried by 309 to 118, the House of Lords defeated the government's Counter-Terrorism Bill, which would have allowed police to hold suspects for 42 days before having to charge or release them. The current limit is 28 days.
The rejection is a setback for Prime Minister Gordon Brown and his Labour party but had been expected following sustained criticism of the bill from senior members of the Lords, including former intelligence chief Eliza Manningham-Buller.
Opponents, including many Labour members of the Lords, saw the proposed law changes as violating Britain's cherished civil liberties and out of line with other Western democracies where detention limits are already far shorter.
"This attempt to appear tough on terrorism, I believe, is a shabby charade which is unworthy of a democratic process and we should reject it," Geoffrey Dear, a former senior police chief, told the Lords ahead of the emphatic vote.
Britain's Home Secretary Jacqui Smith, expressed disappointment at the Lords' move, saying they had the balance between civil liberties and the rule of law wrong.
"For me there is no greater individual liberty than the liberty for individuals not to be blown up on British streets or in British skies," she told the lower house of parliament, the House of Commons, after the vote.
Despite her defiance, the government looks set to quietly let the proposed legislation drop as it concentrates on more pressing issues such as the international financial crisis.
Smith said the government could introduce an alternative bill to allow a 42-day-limit to be enforced "if and when the need arises", but didn't say when that could happen, suggesting the government wasn't prepared to fight on it again now.
What are your thoughts on the issue? Would longer detention help Britain address terrorism? Or will it only become a misused tool?
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