Critics attack Theresa May plan to rush through emergency bail bill

Critics say bill will widen police powers but will not prevent chaos, and is being rushed through with insufficient time for parliament to consider constitutional implications The home secretary, Theresa May, is to ask MPs to pass an emergency bill to resolve the police bail crisis amid warnings from defence lawyers that it amounts to a “smash and grab raid” to boost police powers. The solicitors who applied for the original court ruling that triggered the bail crisis say the emergency legislation will simply encourage an emerging police practice of “bail and see” rather than carrying out investigations as a matter of urgency. Their warning comes as a cross-party group of peers raises concerns that legislating in such highly unusual circumstances undermines the constitutional principle of the separation of politival powers and the rule of law. The home secretary will ask MPs to pass her one-clause police (detention and bail) bill through all its stages by 6pm on Thursday with Lords approval on Monday. It is expected to reach the statue book by Tuesday. The rush follows a ruling by a district judge in Salford, upheld by the high court, that has thrown into doubt the legal position of 85,000 police suspects currently out on bail. The ruling overturned 25 years of police practice under the 1984 Police and Criminal Evidence Act (Pace), which allows suspects to be held only for 96 hours before they are charged or released. The ruling said that periods spent on bail should also count towards the 96-hour “detention clock” limit. The supreme court, which is to hear a full appeal on the issue on 25 July, earlier this week dismissed an application to suspend the original ruling pending that hearing. The home secretary’s bill simply reverses that by saying time spent on bail will not count towards the 96-hour limit, only time spent in detention. But Joseph Kotrie-Monson of the solicitors who represented Paul Hookway, the murder suspect in the original case, says the legislation being rushed through will widen police powers, not prevent chaos. “The judgment in Hookway should have been a wake-up call in respect of this new emerging police practice of ‘bail and see’ rather than interview and investigate properly at the front end.” He said a slow shift had occurred over the 25 years that Pace had been in force in which initial investigation and proper effective interrogation up to 96 hours after arrest has been replaced in practice by excessively long bail periods. In the Hookway case, the ruling that the 96-hour limit had been reached came five months after the murder suspect was initially arrested and had been repeatedly bailed. The House of Lords constitution committee expressed concerns on Thursday that the emergency legislation was being rushed through before the supreme court appeal hearing. “We are concerned that, in the understandable rush to rectify a problem which the police have identified as being serious and urgent, insufficient time has been allowed for parliament fully to consider the constitutional implications of what it is being asked to do,” says the committee’s report. But May is determined to press ahead: “The ability to bail suspects is a crucial part of how the police investigate criminals and protect victims,” she said. “I will always give police the powers they need to protect the public; that is why emergency legislation is required.” Police Theresa May UK criminal justice House of Lords UK supreme court Alan Travis guardian.co.uk

Posted by on July 7, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.