Daily archives: February 1, 2006


Lords defeat government attempt to give Police arbitrary power to ban websites

…but judges will have the authority to approve a ban on any site they consider “related to terrorism”.

From BBC Online

Plans for new anti-terrorism controls on websites have led to a government defeat in the Lords – by just one vote.

The original plans would have allowed a police constable to decide that information on the internet could be related to terrorism.

But peers changed the anti-terror laws to ensure police have to ask judges before telling internet providers that web pages should be removed.

The government was defeated by 148 votes to 147 in the vote.

Home Office Minister Baroness Scotland was away for the vote because of what officials called a “family emergency”.

The defeat came as peers continue to debate the third and final stage of the controversial Terrorism Bill.

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Foreign Affairs Committee: Will the FCO Release the Requested Documents on Torture?

Blairwatch provides an excellent summary of some of the recent proceedings of the Foreign Affairs Committee.

But time marches on and it is still not clear whether the FAC will follow through on their undertaking to obtain crucial minutes and documentation of meetings that discussed the British use of information obtained via torture?

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