HC Deb 19 October 1998 vol 317 cc934-5W
Mr. Mitchell

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what consultations he has held with(a) the RUC, (b) the police in Great Britain, (c) civil liberties organisations, (d) the Irish Government, (e) members of the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee, (f) other hon. Members and (g) the United States Government, concerning the new anti-terrorist legislation. [55349]

Mr. Straw

There was some informal consultation with a number of individuals and bodies, including some hon. and right hon. Members in the short timescale for the preparation of the Criminal Justice (Terrorism and Conspiracy) Act 1998. I met the Chief Constable of the Royal Ulster Constabulary, the Commissioner of the Garda Siochana and the Assistant Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, Mr. David Veness, on 28 August. The consultation document on permanent United Kingdom-wide counter-terrorist legislation, to be issued later this year, will provide a further opportunity for comments on the provisions of that Act in the context of broader consideration of the future shape of legislation against terrorism.