Counter-terrorism

Part of Oral Answers to Questions — Home Department – in the House of Commons at 2:30 pm on 7 November 2005.

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Photo of Charles Clarke Charles Clarke Home Secretary 2:30, 7 November 2005

As the hon. Gentleman, who is a distinguished parliamentarian, will know, the legal systems of the various EU countries are very different indeed. As the Foreign Office report indicated, the answer to that question is up to four years—depending on which country one is talking about—under a system of investigating judges and magistrates, which, as I said, is a different situation. Such long periods of detention in those countries need to be borne in mind when we consider the form of such legislation in this country.