Tipping the balance: New laws 'unjust' say MPs

The system that limits lawyers' access to suspected terrorists is "critically flawed and must be radically improved", MPs said on Sunday.

In a report the constitutional affairs committee said the current system for those who are subject to restrictions on their liberty under the Prevention of Terrorism Act is "defective and must be made fairer".

The MPs say that special advocates - security cleared lawyers - should be able to be allowed to communicate with appellants and their legal advisers after the Special Advocates have seen 'closed' or secret material.

This would allow special advocates to establish whether the charges or evidence can be challenged and provide an opportunity to develop a coherent legal strategy.

Security support

It also demands that support is given to special advocates by security cleared staff to help them research and assess secret material and ensure that suspects obtain a fair trial.

An Office of Special Advocates should be established and could be staffed by intelligence service personnel to support Special Advocates in the handling of secret material, the committee argues.

The report follows an inquiry into the use of special advocates and the lessons learned from the experience of the special immigration appeals commission’s (SIAC) operation for eight years.

Not fair

Committee chairman Alan Beith said the special advocate system "lacks the most basic features that make for a fair trial".

"It was devised for immigration cases involving security as an alternative to a process that was even more unsatisfactory," said Beith.

"Once it was applied to the Belmarsh detention cases and the new control orders its defects became much more significant.

"To deprive someone of their liberty without telling them the charge or the evidence is completely foreign to our system of justice.

"If security considerations require the use of an alternative system – and I would have preferred an investigating judge rather than special advocates – then the system must allow some communication between the special advocates and their clients, even after closed material has been seen."