U.K. unveils broad counterterrorism measures

Britain is to get a unified border force to boost the fight against terrorism, Gordon Brown, the U.K. prime minister, said on Wednesday. A “highly visible” uniformed force would bring together immigration and Customs officers. He also announced a review of allowing intercept evidence in court, and plans to double, from twenty-eight days, the time police can hold suspects without charge. The BBC reports that officers from the Border and Immigration Agency, Revenue and Customs, and UKVisas will be brought together to create a “single primary checkpoint” for passport control and customs. Outlining his counter-terrorism strategy to MPs, Brown said the cabinet secretary had been asked to report back by October on how to implement the proposal “very soon.”

Shadow Home Secretary David Davis told the BBC the proposal was “a bit less than met the eye,” adding: “New uniforms do not make a new force.” For the Liberal Democrats, Nick Clegg said it was “a border force lite without police powers or the incorporation of the transport police”.

Brown said the new borders officers would have “immigration, customs and police powers to investigate and detain people suspected of immigration, customs and criminal offences.” He also said he wanted stronger measures to stop terrorism suspects arriving in the first place, through electronic screening of all passengers checking in and out of the United Kingdom. All visa applicants would require biometric visas from March 2008 and the existing “e-borders scheme” would be expanded. An “all-party consensus” on the use of intercept evidence in court and questioning of suspects after they have been charged would be sought. The government, though, looks set to press ahead with attempts to extend the period for which terrorism suspects can be held without charge, beyond the current twenty-eight day limit.

Brown said one option was to double it to fifty-six days, subject to parliamentary scrutiny and a judge’s approval. He said there had been fifteen attempted terrorist attacks on Britain since 2001 and thirty people had been convicted so far this year. Ministers say it is right to consider extending it because of the increasing complexity of some plots — but the Tories, Lib Dems, and some Labour backbenchers have opposed previous attempts to do so. Home Secretary Jacqui Smith told the BBC the government recognized the “very real concerns about liberty,” but added that terrorist plots were becoming more complicated, more international and police were having to go through hundreds of discs, computers, and house searches abroad.

Other proposals Brown announced include:

* A new system of electronic exit controls at U.K. borders from 2009 so that passports can be checked against the “warnings index” in real time

* From March 2008 biometric visas to be extended to all visa applicants

* A review of how to best protect crowded places, buildings and national infrastructure such as roads, railways, tunnels, bridges, water systems and utilities

* U.K. watch list of suspects to be linked to the Interpol database of lost and stolen documents

* £70m to help local councils and community groups with citizenship projects aimed at combating extremism

* Consultation on tightening bail conditions and travel restrictions on terrorism suspects

Brown also revealed that 900 shopping centres, sports centres, and other venues where large numbers of people congregate had been assessed by counter-terrorism advisers. He said “additional protection” was needed for utility sites, crowded places, and the national infrastructure, from roads and the railway to waterways. Reviews on security measures at such sites would be on-going over the summer, he added.