Gordon Brown potrebbe presto cadere

[John Galt]

Gordon Brown Won't Back Down Over U.K. Terrorism Plan (Update2)

By Kitty Donaldson and Robert Hutton
June 2 (Bloomberg) -- Gordon Brown said he is sticking to his plans to increase the length of time police can hold terrorism suspects without charge to 42 days, defying pressure to back down in the face of a possible parliamentary defeat.
The prime minister said the proposal to increase the limit from 28 days was the ``right'' thing to do to protect U.K. national interests.
``The complexity and sophistication of investigations that now have to be conducted by the police, compared and contrasted with what was happening 10 years ago, make it inevitable that the police will need more time to conduct their investigations,'' he told reporters in London today.
As many as 50 members of Parliament from the ruling Labour Party plan to vote against the proposal, enough to defeat it in the House of Commons. Parliament will consider the measure, part of anti-terrorism legislation, as early as next week.
Defeat may damage Brown's authority, already hurt by poor election results and the worst poll ratings in at least two decades. Last month, he agreed to reconsider tax measures that hurt 5.3 million of the poorest households after more than 40 members of his party threatened to revolt.
Brown said the security services were currently investigating 30 potential terrorist plots, 2,000 terrorist suspects and 200 networks. In recent cases, police needed to examine 400 separate computers, 8,000 discs and 25,000 exhibits, he said.
`Stick to Our Principles'
``I have tried to build consensus around our proposals but I am determined that we stick to our principles and that is that up to 42-days detention is and will be necessary in the future, but Parliament will make the final decision on the individual incident itself,'' Brown said.
A rebellion by 33 Labour lawmakers would be enough to defeat the bill. Britain's detention limit compares with one day in Canada, two in the U.S. and Germany, four in Italy, five in Russia, and six in France, according to Liberty, a U.K. civil rights group that opposes the extension.
``Labour members of Parliament are persuadable, but they are not persuaded yet,'' Philip Cowley, a Nottingham University professor who tracks rebellions in Parliament, said in an interview. ``If Brown loses it is damaging, but not a catastrophe -- and it is definitely not a vote of confidence in the prime minister until they say it is.''
Safeguards
Brown said the government is putting in place safeguards. The police, the Director of Public Prosecutions and the Home Secretary would have to approve any order to invoke the action, he said. Parliament would then vote to implement the order, and there would be new powers for the independent reviewer of terrorist legislation to examine individual cases.
Home Secretary Jacqui Smith, speaking to reporters after she addressed a weekly meeting of Labour lawmakers in Parliament, said she had had a ``good'' meeting with colleagues.
``I think the general feeling is that I was clear about the movement we are making,'' Smith said, referring to a series of safeguards to civil liberties that she is due to publish this week. ``It is not about the sort of government we want to be but about what it means to govern.''
Brown must retain his command of the House of Commons to remain prime minister, and a defeat on a substantial matter of government business might trigger a confidence vote for his administration.
Schools Secretary Ed Balls, who advised Brown during his decade as finance minister, denied the terrorism vote was a confidence issue. ``I don't think it is,'' he told BBC Radio 4 today. ``It's about the national security of our country. It's about showing leadership in difficult times.''




http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?p...13jt4&refer=uk


In pratica, sentendo anche ieri un servizio sulla BBC, Brown vuole prolungare a 42 giorni il fermo per i sospettati di Terrorismo.

Al Tiggì diversi Deputati Labour hanno detto "Abbiamo lottato in questo palazzo (la camera dei comuni n.d.r.) per le nostre civili liberties, non ci rinunceremo certo ora.

Si dice voglia chiedere un voto di Fiducia, se fosse sconfitto credo che il cambio di Leadership sarà inevitabile.

[cyber81]

boh pensavo fosse un buon politico Brown...