David Howarth challenges Clarke to explain his reply on 90 day detention without charge

11.18.29am GMT Tue 15th Nov 2005

Following his intervention in the Terrorism Bill debate on Wednesday, David Howarth, MP for Cambridge, has asked Charles Clarke to clarify his dismissal of his evidence against 90 day detention without charge in the Third Reading of the Terrorism Bill in Parliament.

"The test of whether to charge a person with intention to hold them on remand is merely that there is reasonable suspicion that they committed a crime, this suspicion can take into account future evidence.

"By denying the possibility in the short-term of charging those detained under the terrorism laws, is Mr. Clarke saying that the government want to detain people against whom there is not even a reasonable suspicion?. That sounds to me very close to internment."

David's intervention followed his comments on Wednesday which illustrated that the rule that suspects may not be questioned after charge has no clear legal basis in statute or in case law. Charles Clarke's response described his proposals as focused on the cases where it was impossible in the short-term to charge those detained.