Government responds to 2015 Terrorism Acts report

14 months after it was published, the Government has responded formally to my report of September 2015 on the operation of the Terrorism Acts.

The response is here.  It is a mixed bag: there are some encouraging noises, for example on publication of stop and search statistics, inadmissibility of answers given under compulsion in Schedule 7 examinations, and stopping the clock when s41 detainees are admitted to hospital.  Other long-standing recommendations (e.g. on refining the definition of terrorism) are rejected.

There is no comment on chapter 9 of my 2015 report, which dealt with extremism and plans to counter it, though it is noteworthy that the legislation promised since mid-2015 has not so far been tabled and that even the promised consultation has not yet been announced.

I expect to see, within a few weeks, the publication of my latest annual report on the operation of the Terrorism Acts.  That report will pick up on developments in 2015/16 and make a final set of recommendations, drawing on my observations and conclusions over the past six years.

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