Britain said on Wednesday it would ease house arrest restrictions on terrorism suspects in a compromise sought by the ruling coalition's junior party, the Liberal Democrats. Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said the government was delivering on his Lib Dem party's pledge in last May's national election to scrap the so-called control orders, among the most contentious of the counter-terrorism measures introduced by the previous Labour government.
Clegg's popularity is at a low after he and his party abandoned a campaign pledge to abolish university tuition fees and instead voted to nearly triple student charges. "We have always said ... we need to rebalance this very important relationship between liberty and security," Clegg told BBC television. But civil liberties groups said the government had merely amended and renamed the control order regime.
Eight British citizens are subject to control orders which require them to observe curfews for up to 16 hours a day and subject them to electronic tagging, visitor restrictions and other constraints. Home Secretary (interior minister) Theresa May said control orders would be replaced at the end of 2011 by a lighter regime, to be called "Terrorism Prevention and Investigation Measures", as part of a wider review. Those subject to the new measures would be required to stay at their home overnight. Unlike now, they would be able to use a mobile phone and have limited access to the Internet.
She said the length of the overnight stay would be determined by a judge, but would be between eight and 10 hours. Police and security services would step up surveillance of the suspects in response to the scrapping of day-time curfews.
Like control orders, introduced in 2005, the new powers will be used against terrorism suspects who it is not possible to prosecute or deport, either because the evidence against them is inadmissible or sensitive, or for fear of torture abroad. The Conservative-led government has already scrapped plans for identity cards, curtailed police stop-and-search powers and halved the time terrorism suspects can be held without charge to 14 days.
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