Clegg to outline stance on terror - BBC News

6 January 2011 Last updated at 23:32 ET

Nick Clegg is to promise a tough but fair approach when he outlines the government's views on anti-terror legislation and civil liberties.

In a speech in central London, the deputy prime minister will pledge a "mission to restore British freedoms".

It comes as ministers try to reach agreement over a replacement for control orders, which place a series of constraints on terror suspects.

Mr Clegg will also announce plans to reform libel laws.

The deputy prime minister will make his case for reforming anti-terror laws and promoting civil liberties.

'Turn page'

He will accuse Labour of presiding over the most aggressive period of state interference in a generation.

Mr Clegg will attack the previous government on ID cards, the DNA database and 90-day detention without charge.

"My party spent years campaigning against the erosion of our civil liberties under Labour," the Liberal Democrat leader is set to say.

"And now, in government, we are going to turn a page on that chapter; resurrecting the liberties that have been lost; embarking on a mission to restore our great British freedoms."

Mr Clegg will also announce the government is to publish a draft defamation bill.

He will put the case for restoring the UK's international reputation for free speech with a new statutory defence for those speaking out in the public interest.

'Chilling effect'

The bill would also cater for dealing with defamation on the internet.

English libel laws are having a "chilling effect on scientific debate and investigative journalism", he will state.

Mr Clegg is expected to say: "The test of a free press is its capacity to unearth the truth, exposing charlatans and vested interests along the way.

"It is simply not right when academics and journalists are effectively bullied into silence by the prospect of costly legal battles with wealthy individuals and big businesses."

However, BBC political correspondent Vicki Young says there is unlikely to be much detail in the speech about the planned replacement for control orders.

Ministers are agreed that some terror suspects will still face restrictions on their activities but whether these include curfews, a ban on internet and telephone use, or tagging, is yet to be decided.