42 Days - Where is the Evidence?

This week, Members of Parliament will vote on proposals to extend the period of detention without charge to 42 days.

I would be happy to support this measure if there was a shred of evidence that it is needed. There is not.

Senior lawyers, including the Director of Public Prosecutions, Sir Ken Macdonald, and the former Attorney General, Lord Goldsmith are clear that there is no basis for extending the current detention limit of 28 days. Such an erosion of individual liberties, a cornerstone of our society for 800 years, will do nothing to bolster our collective security.

Even worse, Gordon Brown's apparent concessions on the issue are a con. A Labour minister recently promised a series of 'Mickey Mouse' amendments, designed to whip potential back bench rebels into line, and that is precisely what we have been given.

Labour's MPs are being bullied into supporting this proposal. 'Vote against 42 days on Wednesday and you get David Miliband on Thursday,' they have reportedly been told by their party whips. This is an issue of high principle that Labour have reduced to a test of party loyalty.

This is yet another example of Labour's gesture politics and it must be opposed. Once again, Gordon Brown is feeding his own ego, fighting for something we don't need, while neglecting the vital issues.