13th February 2015
The Muslim Council of Britain expressed its regret at the passing of the latest Counter Terrorism and Security Bill. The Bill has now received Royal Assent, but it runs the risk of at best being ineffective in its aim of keeping our nation safe, and at worst counter-productive. We hope this will be reviewed at the earliest possible opportunity. Representations thus far with parliamentarians in both the House of Commons and the House of Lords, have had limited success (see here for details), in spite of having widespread cross-party support. Past experience with Stop and Search has shown how powers could be used in a discriminatory fashion unless proactive measures are taken. The Muslim Council of Britain therefore now calls on the government to consider all recommendations set out in briefings sent to parliamentarians that have not been incorporated in the areas of the Bill still to be finalised:
- Guidelines: Introduce safeguards within the guidelines to explicitly safeguard and protect against discrimination; introduce a “community trigger” (as recommended in the Government’s response to its consultation for Stop and Search – see here) whereby the police explain to local community how the powers are being used where there are sufficient complaints
- Terms of Reference for the Independent Reviewer and Privacy & Civil Liberties Board: include explicitly within their remit to consider the “impact on communities”
Dr. Shuja Shafi, the Secretary General of the Muslim Council of Britain noted: “Incorporating these recommendations may help partially ameliorate the risk of the negative impact and alienation of the Muslim community that is expected following the Bill’s incorporation into law.”