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No Time to Go Soft on Terrorism, says Kirkhope
Tuesday April 12, 2005
Measures approved by the European Parliament today to establish minimum standards across the European Union for the treatment of criminal suspects and defendants could weaken Britain's fight against terrorism, Timothy Kirkhope MEP, Leader of the Conservative delegation in the European Parliament, said.
The new legislation will mean all suspected criminals are entitled to the same procedural standards, regardless of the nature of the alleged crime.
Mr Kirkhope set out the Conservatives' opposition to the proposals in a parliamentary debate on Monday. He said the plans would tie the hands of Britain's police at a time when the country faces the threat of terrorist attacks.
He said:
"We support legal safeguards for people accused of crimes, but clearly a suspected terrorist is not the same as a suspected burglar.
These proposals go too far because they seek to apply the same procedural guarantees to all types of cases, regardless of the seriousness of the alleged crimes.
There is a danger that with a growing obsession with human rights, we undermine our efforts to fight against terrorism. It is important to strike a balance between the rights of the accused and the right of society to live without fear of attack.
We can allow nothing to undermine our fight against terrorism and those who perpetrate it."
ENDS
