Coalition headache over control orders

Coalition headaches are gathering this Autumn. Fast on the heels of university fees (the government response expected this week but work still being done on its compromise measures) come control orders.

Lib Dems, and quite a few Tories too, lambasted them in opposition. But the Home Secretary, on the advice of the MI5 Director General and the Head of the Office for Security and Counter Terrorism, thinks there isn’t a viable alternative to control orders in sight.

Andrew Rawnsley in “The Observer” yesterday reported David Cameron’s views of the impending political difficulties – at a meeting with the Home Secretary and the Deputy PM, Mr Cameron appears to have said the  control orders saga was looking like a “f****** car crash.”

I understand that what prompted that particular outburst from the PM was when he heard about the views of Lord Macdonald – ex DPP – who has a role on the review of control orders. Lord Macdonald has made it clear to the Home Secretary that if she renews control orders he’ll issue a minority opinion attacking the decision.

The government has until the end of February or the beginning of March 2011 before the current legislation on control orders has to be renewed. But it has until only 24th January 2011 before it has to make up its mind on something else in the review: 28 days’ detention without charge. It looks like on 28 days the government has managed to come up with a compromise measure: only 14 day detention without charge but powers for specially restrictive bail for a further 14 days to follow where it’s thought necessary. Most Lib Dem and Tory opponents of the original measure are willing to live with that. So the earlier work is ready to be published but to look coherent on security laws the government knows it needs to publish control order proposals at the same time. The government is now aiming to get the answers to both areas published by the end of this month or the beginning of December.

The tradition in these tricky circumstances is to announce a review … but that’s exactly what they’re coming to the end of.