October 11, 2008	Saturday	Shawwal 11, 1429

LONDON, Oct 10: Lord Nazir Ahmed believes that the House of Lords would defeat the ‘42-day detention’ proposal in the Counter-terrorism Bill which will return to the House on Monday.

Lord Ahmed, in a press statement on Friday, said the best advice he could give to Her Majesty’s Government is to “advise them to take out the 42-day detention proposal or concede a defeat on the ‘42-day’ issue, as I am sure that the House of Lords will be determined to defeat this part when the vote takes place at Report Stage and the Third Reading.

However, on Monday the House will present its arguments for and against the Bill at the Committee Stage.”

He went further to say that it is very unfortunate that even when Council of Europe has told the British Government that the 42-day proposal, within Counter-terrorism Bill, contravenes European Human Rights laws, the government will still not back down.

Additionally, according to the Times newspaper last week, even the government’s own advisers have told the prime minister that the 42-day proposal is unworkable.

Lord Ahmed is calling on the public to approach their Members of Parliament to demand that they do not show any support for this bill when it returns to the House of Commons, on the basis of defending the fundamental principles of habeas corpus.