Peers slam "ill-advised" terror law plan

By Michael Holden

LONDON (Reuters) - The government's plans to extend the time terrorism suspects can be held without charge are ill-advised and a "recipe for confusion" that could jeopardise trials, a report by a committee of peers said on Tuesday.

Under the proposals, both houses of parliament would have to vote on the Home Secretary's decision allowing police to detain suspects for up to 42 days for a temporary period in the face of an "exceptional terrorist threat".

The cross-party House of Lords Constitution Committee said the "muddled" plans in the Counter-Terrorism Bill mean parliament would be asked to make decisions which it is "institutionally ill-equipped to determine".

It also warned that the bill could put parliament and the judiciary on a collision course as senior judges would also have to rule on every police application for extended detention, perhaps hours after a highly charged political debate.

"The bill risks conflating the roles of parliament and the judiciary, which would be quite inappropriate," said the committee, which scrutinises the constitutional implications of all bills that go before the House of Lords.

"This is a recipe for confusion that ... arguably risks undermining the rights of fair trial for the individuals concerned."

Lord Goodlad, the committee's chairman, said there were serious fears that the proposed law would mean parliament would be acting in a quasi-judicial manner.

"Considering that any debate will be highly political in nature and any vote may well be whipped by the political parties, we are deeply concerned that the independence of the judiciary may appear to be undermined and that trials may be prejudiced," he said.