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Blair loses key vote on anti-terror bill
(AP)
Updated: 2005-11-09 01:32
British Prime Minister Tony Blair lost a crucial parliamentary vote Wednesday
on sweeping new legislation allowing police to detain terrorism suspects for 90
days without charge — the first major defeat of his premiership and a serious
blow to his authority.
Britain's Prime Minister Tony Blair speaks at
Prime Minister's Questions in London's House of Commons, Wednesday, Nov.
9, 2005 in this image made from television. Blair said Wednesday that
British police had foiled two terrorist plots since the July 7 terror
bombings in London. He provided no further details of the plots. However,
last week three suspects appeared in court, charged with offenses
including terrorist fund-raising and conspiracy to murder. Police
allegedly found a recipe for rocket propellant at the home of one of the
suspects, and another allegedly had images of Washington D.C. stored on
the hard drive of a computer. [AP] |
Lawmakers blocked the measure by 322 votes to 291, a majority of 31 against
the government. Blair, who had put his authority in the line, appeared tense and
shook his head as the result was read out.
Rebels in Blair's Labour Party and opposition lawmakers instead voted for a
maximum detention period of 28 days — by 323 votes to 290.
The Terrorism Bill was drafted in the wake of the July attacks on London's
transit system. Designed to tackle Muslim extremism, it also aims to outlaw
training in terrorist camps, encouraging acts of violence and glorifying
terrorism.
It must be approved by Parliament's upper chamber, the House of Lords, before
it can become law.
Wednesday's result is humiliating for Blair, who took a major political
gamble in refusing to back down on the plan and had called in every supporter to
shore up numbers. Treasury chief Gordon Brown was called back from an official
visit to Israel, only two hours after arriving in the country.
Blair also ordered Foreign Secretary Jack Straw to cut short an official EU
visit to Russia, while Labour Party chairman Ian McCartney, who is recuperating
from heart surgery, volunteered to return to work for the vote.
The current maximum detention period for terror suspects without charge is 14
days and critics argued that extending it to 90 days would erode civil rights.
The result raises serious question about Blair's grip on power. His
popularity slumped due to the unpopular war in Iraq, and some Labour lawmakers
now regard Blair as an electoral liability.
Blair has said he will not seek a fourth term in office, and although he
could serve as prime minister until 2010, there is pressure for him to quit
sooner.
Left-wingers in the party have long been unhappy with his plans for greater
private sector involvement in state-run hospitals and schools. Many want Blair
to step aside in favor of Brown, a powerful and popular figure in the
party.
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