Green party

New anti-terror measures 'violation of civil liberties'

After a court decision in December 2004 declaring the UK's anti-terror detainment policy as unlawful the Home Secretary has now announced new measures including house arrest and tagging. These measures violate civil liberties and are a further step towards turning Britain into a police state.

Conference believes:

1. that they constitute a constitutionally significant increase in the power of the Government over the individual and the role given to the judiciary is not a sufficient safeguard. They may be applied "to any suspected terrorist irrespective of nationality or, for most controls, of the nature of the terrorist activity". Detention orders involve the deprivation of liberty and need a "derogation" or opt-out from the European convention on human rights.

2.It is acknowledged that the Muslim community will be the most affected, and the way the legislation was rushed through Parliament is characteristic of the way this Government has introduced all its draconian anti-terrorist laws. Hazel Blears, the minister responsible for counter-terrorism, said this week that Muslims will have to accept as a "reality" that they will be stopped and searched by the police more often than the rest of the public.

3.Conference further thinks that we are not in a state of emergency and that the rule of law and the Convention of Human Rights must not be suspended as it suits the government.

Conference therefore calls upon the Executive to promote the Green Party's opposition to the Government's proposals for executive detention and control orders. It instructs the Press Office to actively publicise the Green Party's position. It encourages regional and local parties to continue to campaign against the government's unlawful and appalling anti-terrorist measures

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