The British government said today its new anti-terrorism measures to allow the detention of foreigners without trial did not amount to internment and did not violate the rule of law.
Home Secretary Mr David Blunkett, who is due to unveil the new measures later in the day, said the detentions would be for a limited period of six months and those detained would have the right to challenge the evidence in court.
"That is not internment," Mr Blunkett told BBC radio. "Remember these are people coming into our country voluntarily . . . we don't have to take people who want to be here for reasons other than living peacefully and contributing to our society.
"I can tell you that we would not be putting this through . . . unless I believed that . . . [these] people were likely to put us at risk," he said.
Mr Blunkett placed an order before parliament yesteday that allows parts of the European Convention on Human Rights, to which Britain is a signatory, to be set aside by Britain in time of public emergency.
But the new measures are attracting protests from various quarters, including civil rights group Liberty, which said it would challenge the move in court.
Under the proposed measures, suspects can be held for six months in high-security jails until their cases are reviewed by the Special Immigration Appeals Commission, headed by a High Court judge. The cases could then be reviewed every six months.
Internment without trial was first used against suspected IRA members in the 1970s. But this will be the first time Britain has used it since signing the European Human Rights Convention.
PA