Terrorism (Detention and Human Rights)

As I have tried to make clear throughout our debate, Government policy is being determined as we speak during the course of the review of our counter-terrorist response, including legislation, which is taking place across the whole of Government. With respect to my hon. Friend, it was right and proper for me to shake my head because I cannot tell him what was in the Attorney-General’s mind when he said what he did. In that context, my hon. Friend’s question was not really appropriate. That is why I was shaking my head, and I hope that he will forgive me. There must be scope and space for mature and reflective debate across Government and across Parliament, so that we end up with the package and the legislation that we all require and accept is necessary to take our challenge to this threat far more seriously. By the by, in response to a comment that I think was made by the hon. Member for Beaconsfield, I am not aware of any terrorism provision in the legislation from 2000, 2001, 2005, or 2006 that has not yet been brought into force. I shall address another entirely unnecessary point. I was the person in charge of this at the time, and once we got the 28-day provision through one of the most serious points that the Government took into account from all quarters of the House was that there should be very plainly a code of conduct as to how the provision was operated. When we take the time not only to draft that code of conduct but to consult on it before empowering it, we are told, ““It couldn’t be that urgent because you took so long between Royal Assent and starting the process.”” That is not entirely fair. Throughout that process, as part of a little transition thing, I was intimately involved.