Lib Dem Councillors' Fury at 42 Days (Islington Liberal Democrats)

Islington Liberal Democrats <Islington_ld@cix.co.uk>

Lib Dem Councillors' Fury at 42 Days

June 12, 2008 4:36 PM

Liberal Democrats are united against plans for 42 days' detention without charge

Islington's Liberal Democrat councillors responded angrily to the Labour Government's decision to extend the period of detention without charge to 42 days.

Councillor Ruth Polling said:

"The Government now have the power to lock people up for six weeks without even telling them why. This is a sad day for this country, as Labour casually tear up even more of our hard-won liberties.

"The effect on community relations in London could be disastrous - if the Government takes to spiriting people away without even charging them with any crime, it's going to seriously alienate many in our community. We must all work together to tackle problems of extremism, and this policy will make it much more difficult.

"Islington is lucky that we have some fantastic community and faith organisations working with people from all backgrounds and bringing them together. Work such as this will be much more effective in preventing terrorism than Labour's ineffective, illiberal, and dangerous measures.

"When both Islington MPs, even the usually unquestioningly loyal Emily Thornberry, have lost faith in the Labour Government and rebelled on a crucially close vote, you can tell that Gordon Brown and the Labour party are really in trouble."