Terrorism definition “disappointingly narrow”

Commenting on today's report by Lord Carlile of Berriew QC, the government-appointed reviewer of terrorism legislation, on the definition of terrorism, Eric Metcalfe, Director of Human Rights Policy at JUSTICE said: “If ordinary people can tell the difference between the terrorism of Al Qaeda and the actions of the ANC under Apartheid, then our laws should be able to do so as well.”

Lord Carlile's concluded that “a specific statutory defence of support for a just cause is not practicable”. Instead, he recommended that “concerns about inappropriate prosecution of those struggling against oppressive regimes” could be met by statutory guidance for prosecutors.

Metcalfe added: “The report shows that definition of terrorism in UK law is one of the broadest anywhere in the world and yet Lord Carlile believes that the discretion of prosecutors should be enough to prevent it being applied unfairly.”