MINISTERS AND THE LAW

by MONITOR
THE new book by Lord Stevens, formerly Metropolitan Police Commissioner, is currently being excerpted in two of Mr Rupert Murdoch's newspapers, an accolade not often bestowed on even a best-selling author. Yesterday's excerpt began with these words: “At Scotland Yard we were amazed when, in April, a jury at the Old Bailey cleared eight of the men charged with involvement in the ricin plot... The jury's verdict was very disappointing but questioning such decisions, other than to learn from them, is not productive.” Yesterday police in London and Manchester arrested seven men, all of them Algerian and most from among the eight men cleared in April of involvement in a ricin poison plot. Lessons have apparently been learnt. These arrests coincided with Home Secretary Charles Clarke's announcement of new anti-terror measures including offences of incitement to terrorism and “acts preparatory to terrorism”. He also unveiled plans to allow terror suspects to be held for three months without trial instead of the current fourteen days. The six arrested yesterday are being held under the 1971 Immigration Act and if the government attempts to deport them they will have the right of appeal. Cases of this kind, which seem certain to increase in number, are likely to put relations between the government and the judiciary under strain. Also yesterday Britain's senior law lord, Lord Bingham, responded to remarks made by Tony Blair, Charles Clarke and Michael Howard about the need for the judiciary to take account of the new situation caused by terrorism in Britain. He said: “Judges do not need lessons on national security. But if they are prevented from mediating between the individual and the state and from ensuring that ministers act within the law, then both democracy and the rule of law will suffer. Ministers take decisions and the courts decide if the decisions are within the law.”