22 February 2007
In brief
Control orders are “necessary and justifiable”, according to the findings of an independent review conducted by Lord Carlile of Berriew QC, the government’s terror watchdog. Carlile found the orders were necessary because of the risk of terrorist attacks, and that they were being used cautiously. “The process is rigorous and structured in an appropriate way, so that the decisions are definitely those of the Home Secretary himself, not his officials,” he writes. However, he warns: “The greatest care must be taken to ensure that the orders are used only in those cases where there is a clear intention to put the stated desire into effect, as opposed to extravagant expressions of support or wishes.”
