Al Qaeda wouldn’t hesitate to blow away a city: That’s why we need 42-day detention, says ex MI6 boss

Jason Lewis / UK Daily Mail | April 27, 2008

The former head of MI6 is backing controversial Government plans to hold terror suspects for 42 days without charge, saying it might prevent a dirty-bomb attack on Britain.

MI6 prides itself on avoiding political debates but former chief Sir Richard Dearlove warns that the UK would “regret” not bringing in longer detention for terror suspects.

Sir Richard, 63, who retired from MI6 in 2004, says that in some serious cases the current 28-day limit is not enough to build a case or to gather intelligence on the scale of the threat faced by Britain.

He says of Al Qaeda: “Should it ever obtain the means to blow away a complete city, I fear, with good intelligence that supports my fears, that it would not hesitate to try.”

His intervention comes after Director of Public Prosecution Sir Ken Macdonald warned MPs on the Home Affairs Committee on Wednesday that any move to extend the period suspects can be held is unnecessary.

He said he had “managed quite comfortably” within the 28-day limit – and no suspect had been held longer than 14 days in the past nine months.

But writing in Contingency Today, a magazine for security professionals, Sir Richard says the increased complexity of terrorism cases, especially the need for help from spy agencies abroad, means investigators need more time.

• A d v e r t i s e m e n t

“In some states simply establishing identity is a major investigative challenge,” he says. “When we do need that extension, we will need it badly.”

Full article here.

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