Emergency law planned to reverse court bail ruling - Reuters UK

LONDON | Thu Jun 30, 2011 2:11pm BST

LONDON (Reuters) - The government will introduce emergency legislation to overturn a court ruling that would force police to charge or release suspects within four days of their arrest, policing minister Nick Herbert told parliament on Thursday.

Setting up a clash with the judiciary, Herbert said the judgement would leave police with "one hand tied behind their backs" and affected around 80,000 suspects on police bail.

The High Court ruling overturned the system whereby police free suspects on bail for extended periods while an investigation continues. The judgement means the clock will be ticking on a 96-hour limit to bring charges even when a suspect is out on police bail.

"In some cases it will mean that suspects who would normally be released on bail are detained for longer," Herbert said, adding that many police forces did not have enough cells to hold all the suspects.

"In other cases, it risks impeding the police to such an extent that the investigation will have to be stopped because the detention time has run out."

Herbert said senior police officers intended to challenge the judgement, which stems from the case of a murder suspect in Manchester, at the Supreme Court.

However, the minister said the government could not afford to wait for the outcome of that ruling.

"We will urgently bring forward emergency legislation to overturn the ruling," he said.

"That emergency legislation will clarify the position and provide assurance that the police can continue to operate on the basis on which they have been operating for many years."

(Reporting by Keith Weir; Editing by Steve Addison)