Police officers have over-used powers to stop-and-search granted under counter-terrorism legislation, a senior police officer has acknowledged.
Giving evidence to the home affairs committee, Metropolitan police assistant commissioner John Yates told MPs that officers had become "broadly reliant" on Section 44 of the Terrorism Act 2000, following the bombing of London in July 2005.
And the use of Section 44 has reduced by around half over the last six months, following public concerns, he told the committee.
Section 44 of the Terrorism Act 2000 allows the police to stop and search anyone in a specific area.
Before Section 44, the police could only stop and search individuals if they had 'reasonable grounds' for suspicion and certain criteria were met.
"Yates of the Yard" – as he has been dubbed - is one of Britain's best known detectives, having led the investigation into the cash-for-honours affair.
He told the committee that there had been an "absence of detailed briefing and understanding" among police officers about where it was appropriate to use the power.
And the "explosion" of the use of the power had followed particular events such as the 7/7 London bombings, or the attempted bombing of a nightclub in Haymarket in 2007.
"But our attention in terms of the specific details of Section 44 may not have been as thorough has it could have been," he added.
Yates said the "catch all, slightly draconian power" was now only in operation in specific areas of London where the local authority believed there to be a higher risk of terrorist attack, such as around the Palace of Westminster.
And he sought to reassure MPs that while the use of the power was now more tightly controlled, its use in each area of the capital was reviewed monthly dependent on the current threat level.
"The authority will change distinctively every month to reflect intelligence picture," he said.
"For example in coming months we are looking at Christmas markets and shopping areas."
Patrick Mercer (Con, Newark) as to whether the police received any “positive feedback” from those who were stopped and searched, grateful for the protection the power provided.
And James Clappison (Con, Hertsmere) questioned whether there was not a “silent majority” of the public who did not wish to put the police’s work “under the microscope in order to criticise them”.
Yates said he was not aware of any positive feedback from the public, although acknowledged that the public were more willing to submit to searches in the immediate aftermath of a terrorist attack.
