Court calls for end to control orders
Court calls for end to control orders
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Wednesday, 28, Jun 2006 05:34
Tony Blair's anti-terror policy has been dealt a major blow today after a judge at the high court ruled that the use of so-called control orders breached human rights.
Justice Jeremy Sullivan said that the orders placed on six terrorism suspects, which effectively confined them to their homes for most of the day, broke European human rights laws.
He added that the Home Office must therefore quash the orders, although the government is set to appeal the decision.
"The six control orders are incompatible with the respondents' right to liberty under article five of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR)," the judge said.
"It follows that the [home secretary] had no power to make the orders and they must therefore all be quashed."
A lawyer for two of the six men, none of whom have been named, said the court's ruling was "heartening".
The government pushed through the implementation of control orders in April this year, despite discontent in parliament about the violation of liberties as part of the fight against terrorism.
As well as enabling suspects to virtually be put under house arrest, the orders also prevent them from using computers and force them to hand in their passports.
A Home Office spokesman said: "The home secretary strongly disagrees with the judgment of the court that obligations in the control orders amount to a deprivation of liberty so engaging Article Five of the ECHR.
"He will seek to overturn the decision at the court of appeal."
The Conservatives took the opportunity to claim the government had not listened to their concerns.
"When control orders were first debated we warned the government that exactly this might happen, and explicitly offered them the option of extending the time limit on the old legislation, specifically to give them time to think," shadow home secretary David Davis said.
"We raised precisely this risk with them in the debate on control orders, which they ignored."