Open letter: A threat to our freedoms

Open letter: A threat to our freedoms

No convincing case has been made for detaining terror suspects without charge beyond the current limit of 28 days

In October last year the prime minister made a promising speech in favour of preserving our civil liberties and extending them further. He argued for respecting the freedom of citizens to be protected from arbitrary treatment by the state and said: "The very freedoms we have built up over generations are the freedoms terrorists most want to destroy."

It is in agreement with these words that we today call upon the prime minister to abandon plans to extend pre-charge detention of terrorist suspects to up to 42 days, from the current limit of 28 days.

It has become clear, as this debate has proceeded, that there is no consensus on the case for an extension of detention powers. Rather, it has resulted in a broad consensus among independent and expert opinion outside government that no convincing case has been made. We feel that the home office is underestimating the damage this legislation could have: to our struggle against home-grown terrorism; to preserving individual liberty; and to the reputations of the United Kingdom and the Labour Party as forces that seek to protect and advance human rights.

We are concerned that these measures will once again polarise opinion with damaging results. In particular, they are likely to undermine the efforts of those involved in the difficult task of building confidence in the intelligence work and policing efforts among all British citizens and British Muslims in particular on which our security depends

The parliamentary joint committee on human rights said the plans were "an unnecessary and disproportionate means of achieving the aim of protecting the public". We agree entirely, and call on the government to withdraw the measure while renewing its commitment in seeking to build a broad consensus on national security and anti-terror strategy.


Signed in their personal capacities:

Sunny Hundal, editor - LiberalConspiracy.org
Fareena Alam, editor - Q-News magazine
Yasmin Alibhai-Brown, commentator and co-founder - British Muslims for Secular Democracy
Lisa Appignanesi, writer
Prof Timothy Garton Ash, Professor of European Studies, University of Oxford
Anthony Barnett, founder - openDemocracy
Sir Geoffrey Bindman, solicitor
Yahya Birt, City Circle
Jon Bright, managing editor - OurKingdom
Martin Bright, political editor - New Statesman
John le Carré, writer
Tufyal Choudhury, Lecturer in Law - University of Durham
Peter Facey, director - Unlock Democracy
Dr Catherine Fieschi, director - Demos
Conor Foley, human rights activist
Pam Giddy, director - The Power Inquiry
Jeremy Hardie, chairman - Open Democracy Foundation
Gavin Hayes, general-secretary - Compass
Sir Bob Hepple QC, Emeritus Professor of Law
Paul Hilder - Avaaz.org
Ed Husain, writer and co-founder - Quilliam Foundation
Baroness Helena Kennedy QC
John Jackson, lawyer and writer
Sunder Katwala, general-secretary - Fabian Society
Francesca Klug, Professorial Research Fellow - London School of Economics
Hari Kunzru, writer
Prof David Marquand, writer, academic and former Labour MP
Prof Tariq Modood, Professor of Sociology, Politics and Public Policy - Bristol University
Fuad Nahdi, The Radical Middle Way
Prof Susie Orbach, writer
Philip Pullman, writer
Ziauddin Sardar, novelist and commissioner - Equality and Human Rights Commission
Dr Ghayasuddin Siddiqui, director - The Muslim Institute
Gillian Slovo, novelist
Prof Quentin Skinner, Regius Professor of Modern History Cambridge
Juliet Stevenson, actor and director
Prof Stuart Weir, editor - Democratic Audit
Timothy Winter, Lecturer in Islamic Studies - University of Cambridge