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News

News Archives: Index

October 7, 2010: Probation Set For Industrial Action

October 5, 2010: Turning Prisoners Into Taxpayers

October 4, 2010: Murder Changes Now In Force

September 20, 2010: Probation Programmes Face Cuts

August 24, 2010: Victorian Poor Law Records Online

August 10, 2010: Justice Job Cuts

July 28, 2010: Prison Violence Growing

July 22, 2010: Police Numbers: Latest Figures

July 22, 2010: New Jurisdiction Rules

July 16, 2010: CCJS On Prison And Probation Spending Under Labour

July 15, 2010: Latest Statistics On Violent And Sexual Crime

July 15, 2010: Latest National Crime Figures

July 15, 2010: New Chief Prisons Inspector

July 14, 2010: Hard Times Ahead For Prisons: Anne Owers

July 14, 2010: Prison Does Not Work: Ken Clarke

July 13, 2010: Criminal Justice Reform: Sentencing and Rehabilitation

July 13, 2010: Criminal Justice Reform Priorities

July 12, 2010: What Price Public Protection, Asks Probation Chief Inspector

July 12, 2010: NOMS has failed, says Napo

July 10, 2010: IPCC To Investigate Death of Raoul Moat

July 9, 2010: Women In Prison: New Report

July 9, 2009: Unjust Deserts: Imprisonment for Public Protection

July 8, 2010: Police Search Powers Change

July 7, 2010: Make 'Legal High' Illegal, Says ACMD

July 2, 2010: Failing Children In Prison

July 2, 2010: Police Buried Under a Blizzard of Guidance: HMIC

July 1, 2010: Freedom To Change The Law?

June 30, 2010: A New Outlook On Penal Reform?

June 30, 2010: Revolving Door Of Offending Must Stop, Says Clarke

June 30, 2010: Ken Clarke: Speech on Criminal Justice Reform

June 29, 2010: No More Police Targets

June 26, 2010: Family Intervention Projects Questioned

June 25, 2010: Cutting Criminal Justice

June 24, 2010: Napo on Sex Offenders Report

June 23, 2010: Closing Courts: The Cuts Begin

June 23, 2010: Strategy To Tackle Gangs

June 15, 2010: Courts and Mentally Disordered Offenders

June 8, 2010: Working With Muslims in Prison

June 1, 2010: Your Chance To Nominate a QC

March 14, 2005: New Prevention of Terrorism Act

The Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005 received Royal Assent on 11 March 2005. The Act introduces a system of control orders which are aimed at disrupting and preventing terrorist activity.

Non-derogating control orders allow the Home Secretary to impose a range of conditions including a ban on internet or mobile phone use, restrictions on movement and travel, restrictions on associations with named individuals and the use of tagging for the purposes of monitoring curfews.

The Home Secretary is required to apply for leave from a judge of the High Court in order to make a non-derogating control order. In an urgent case where it is not possible to wait for leave from a judge, the Home Secretary will certify as to the urgency of the case on the face of the order and it will take effect immediately. In this case the order must be referred immediately to the Court for confirmation within seven days, and if confirmed, it would be referred for a full hearing.

The Act also makes provision for the Home Secretary to apply to a court for the court to make a derogating control order which could require someone to remain in a particular place at all times, if the threat to the UK changes.

A designated derogation order, derogating from Article 5 of the European Convention on Human Rights, would need to be made before the Home Secretary could apply to the court for a derogating control order. The designated derogation order would be made and laid before Parliament. It would come into force immediately, but would need to be confirmed by both Houses, following a debate, within 40 days.

The Act also includes a requirement that the powers to make control orders, both derogating and non-derogating, will lapse unless renewed annually by a vote by both Houses. The powers could be revived if they have lapsed by a further order subject to a vote by both Houses of Parliament.

Other proposals already in the Bill require the Home Secretary to:

  • appoint an independent reviewer to produce a report on the whole Act to Parliament annually
  • report to Parliament every three months on the use made of the control order powers during that period
  • annual renewal of the power to make derogating orders