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By Tony Grew - 24th January 2011
New shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper has attacked the government's handling of pre-charge detention for terrorism suspects.
Last week home office minister Damian Green told the Commons that the government will not be seeking to extend the order allowing the maximum 28-day limit.
That means the current order will lapse at midnight tonight and the maximum limit of pre-charge detention will revert to 14 days.
Cooper claimed ministers had to be "dragged to the House" to explain the situation.
She complained that Green had promised to place draft emergency legislation in the Commons library, but has not yet done so.
She added that the BBC has been briefed that the review of counter-terrorism legislation is over and has been told some of its contents ahead of MPs.
Cooper said the home office's handling of the issue has been "chaotic and shambolic".
"What is happening to contol orders?" she asked.
Home secretary Theresa May welcomed Cooper to her new role and reflected that she is the third shadow home secretary in nine months.
She said her shadow's point was about process, and added that the last shadow home secretary "very much supported" the change in pre-charge detention.
May said Cooper was "unable to answer" when asked in an interview if she also backs the reduction.
"If she is interested in chaos she should sort out her own policy," May said.
Cooper returned to the issue on a point of order after home office questions, and demanded May make a statement now "before the old powers run out at midnight" and not on Wednesday as planned.
She complained again that the draft legislation has not been placed in the library.
May replied that it will be placed in the library but no promise was made to do so before the powers lapse. She added that Section 28 of the Terrorism Act 2006 grants the power to extend detention if needed.
The rest of home office questions was dominated by questions about policing and public sector cuts.
Barbara Keeley (Lab, Worsley and Eccles South) said Greater Manchester police are to lose 1,400 officers and that cuts of that magnitude will lead to a rise in crime, which fell by a third since 1997.
Police minister Nick Herbert said the chief constable has actually said that the end result of the reduction in spending will be more resources for the frontline. He added that police numbers began to fall towards the end of the Labour administration.
Jack Straw (Lab, Blackburn) defended the statistics produced by the British crime survey, which was established by the last Tory government to ensure greater accuracy. He called on ministers to "admit" crime fell under Labour.
Herbert said he has asked the national statistician to conduct a review of the recording of crime statistics.
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