Britain may let terror suspects turn ‘supergrass’

THE British Government is considering allowing terror suspects to turn “supergrass”, it emerged yesterday.

Home Secretary Charles Clarke disclosed in a letter to his opposition counterparts that work was under way to set up “intelligence interviews” between terror suspects and investigators from the police and security services.

In a draft Terrorism Bill he also unveiled plans for new laws to crack down on extremist Islamic bookshops by creating the offence of “dissemination of terrorist publications” plus a proposed offence of glorifying terrorism, carrying up to five years in jail.

Mr Clarke confirmed he would back police demands to increase the time terror suspects can be detained for questioning without charge from 14 days to three months.

Yesterday’s bill said there would be a 20-year limit on the offence of “glorifying, exalting or celebrating” a terrorist attack.

It will not be a crime to glorify any events which happened more than 20 years earlier, except those contained in a list drawn up by the Home Secretary.

The offence would apply to terror attacks around the world, not just those on British soil.

A Home Office spokeswoman said: “These events which are still felt to be ‘raw’ will be contained in an order attached to the Bill. For example, in 20 years’ time people might still feel September 11 or July 7 were events that still ought not to be glorified.”

The plans immediately drew criticism from the Liberal Democrats, the Islamic Human Rights Commission and civil liberties campaigners.

On the “supergrass” issue, senior legal sources confirmed the interviews would be secret, would not be tape recorded and need not be carried out in front of the suspect’s lawyers.