28 Day Detention

The Director of Public Prosecutions, Sir Ken MacDonald, as well as the former Attorney General, Lord Goldsmith, have both come out against extending detention without charge past 28 days.

Sir Ken: "Our experience has been that 28 days has suited us quite nicely ... We have had very, very complex cases since this law was enacted and in only three have we had to go beyond the 14 days ... If, after 25 or 26 days you couldn't find a reasonable suspicion to justify a charging decision, it might be quite difficult for a prosecutor to persuade a court [to extend the detention without charge]."

For his part, Lord Goldsmith said that he would have resigned as Attorney General if the Commons had passed 90-day detention, and that Tony Blair had been "aware of my concerns."