'Illegal' stop search powers must be reformed (Newham Borough Liberal Democrats)

Newham Borough Liberal Democrats <info@libdems.org.uk>

'Illegal' stop search powers must be reformed

July 5, 2010 2:00 PM
Originally published by Sarah Ludford MEP

Commenting on the confirmation of a European human rights court condemnation of UK stop & search laws, Liberal Democrat European justice & human rights spokeswoman and London MEP Sarah Ludford said:

"I urge the new government to press on with reform of section 44 of the Terrorism Act that has been condemned by the Strasbourg court as unjustifiably allowing police to stop and search without reason for suspicion."

"The new government has made a great start in the area of civil liberties, abolishing ID cards and child fingerprinting and announcing legal constraints on snooping powers. But the harassment of protesters, journalists and photographers under the guise of anti-terrorism must stop."

Note to editors

1. The European Court of Human Rights (not an EU body) last week rejected a UK government appeal and confirmed its January decision in the case of Gillan & Quinton (arms trade protesters stopped in London in 2003) that the UK's broad stop and search powers under the Terrorism Act are illegal. They breach the European Convention on Human Rights' privacy safeguards by being too broad in scope and not requiring prior reasonable suspicion. The whole of Greater London has been designated a zone where police can stop & search anyone without cause.

2. Sarah Ludford is supporting the campaign group "I'm a photographer, not a terrorist", which had another 'flashmob' demonstration outside New Scotland Yard on Sunday 4th July 2010. Her picture at their previous demo in Trafalgar Square can be seen here. Sarah is meeting soon with City of London police about the experience of professional photographers who get police intervention when taking photos of City buildings.