[Mb-civic] Blair may speed up tightening of terror laws

[Michael Butler]

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Blair may speed up tightening of terror laws
>By James Blitz and Jimmy Burns in London and Holly Yeager in Washington
>Published: July 11 2005 19:15 | Last updated: July 12 2005 08:47
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As Tony Blair said Britain could speed up the introduction of new laws to
apprehend and prosecute people preparing to commit terrorist acts, a poll
published in The Times newspaper on Tuesday showed a majority of the public
would back tough new anti-terrorist measures.

The Populus poll showed 86 per cent favoured giving the police new powers to
arrest people they suspect of planing terrorist acts while 61 per cent said
they supported the introduction of ID cards.

As the main UK political parties united to condemn last week's terror
attacks in which 52 people are confirmed to have died the prime minister
said the government could accelerate the introduction of planned new
anti-terrorist legislation later this year.

Addressing parliament for the first time since the bombings, Mr Blair
promised one of the most ³vigorous and intensive² police manhunts the UK has
seen to catch those responsible. The Blair government believes the police
already have sufficient powers to hunt down and prosecute the individuals
thought to be Islamist terrorists who implemented last week's attack.

But ministers believe the police face serious obstacles when it comes to
apprehending and prosecuting people whom they believe to be in the process
of planning a terrorist attack. The prime minister indicated that he could
implement such laws later this year if the police so demand.

His comments came as President George W. Bush said the US was ³working with
our allies to share information and to prevent terrorists from obtaining
weapons of mass destruction².

The US is re-examining counter-terrorism policy at home in the wake of the
London bombings and Mr Bush cautioned that ³there's no such thing as perfect
security².

But Harry Reid, the Senate Democratic leader, complained the Bush
administration had done too little to protect US cities.
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³We should take very seriously the lesson learned from the attacks in
London,² he said. ³Fighting terrorism overseas is not enough to ensure that
terrorists will not strike American soil again.²

Mr Reid called for more spending on rail security, protection of chemical
plants and emergency response services.

In London, police continued their search for the bombers. Progress is
understood to have been made in identifying an individual suspected of being
directly responsible for the explosion on the bus near the capital's
Tavistock Square. ³I think we are going to see photographs of one or more
suspects being posted within days,² said one European security official who
has been involved in the close international co-operation behind the hunt
for the terrorists.

Gordon Brown, Britain's finance minister, on Monday made his first comments
on the bombings, saying the government could increase expenditure to beef up
counter-terrorism policy.

³I promise we will do whatever it takes and spend whatever is necessary to
protect the people of this country to ensure that terrorism is defeated,² he
said. The mood of unity in the UK was underlined when Michael Howard, the
centre-right Conservative opposition leader, softened his demand for an
immediate inquiry into last week's terrorist attacks in London.

³Now is not the time for a discussion on detail,² he said.

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