§ Mr. OatenTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Burnley (Mr. Pike) of 15 October 2003,Official Report, column 260W, on terrorism, when 188W section 44 powers were first used in London; on how many occasions and on what dates the powers have been confirmed since the Terrorism Act 2000 came into force; and whether the use of section 44 powers relates to specific areas of London or to the whole of the Metropolitan police area. [133966]
§ Mr. BlunkettThe Metropolitan police and City of London have authorised the use of stop and search powers under the Terrorism Act since it came into force on 19 February 2001. The powers have been authorised in respect of the whole of each force area since that time in accordance with the statutory procedures.
The decision to authorise use of the powers is made against the background of the current threat level and the assessment of the risk to any designated or whole force area. Authorisations are only confirmed on a monthly basis if the Secretary of State is satisfied that their use is necessary to prevent acts of terrorism.