The former Northern Ireland shadow secretary, Mr Kevin McNamara, is to propose a "reasoned" amendment to the Bill strengthening Britain's antiterrorist legislation when it comes before the House of Commons on Wednesday suggesting it is contrary to the European Convention on Human Rights.
Mr McNamara expressed his concern yesterday that the legislation was being rushed through the Westminster parliament on two days and MPs would be given their first opportunity to view the Bill on Wednesday morning. Mr McNamara said he feared the impact of the Bill on the "credibility of the peace process" and called for safeguards to be built into the legislation, including a provision that it should lapse after one year.
The amendment will also draw attention to recent miscarriages of justice in Britain, including the Birmingham Six and Guildford Four, who were convicted on the evidence of senior police officers. The legislation is further criticised for the inclusion of the offence of conspiring to commit terrorist offences outside the UK without making a distinction between democratic and non-democratic regimes.
His comments came as Downing Street rejected claims that the Prime Minister, Mr Tony Blair, had been forced to agree that legislation enabling an individual to be convicted on the word of a senior police officer would be reviewed every year.
A Downing Street spokesman said: "The Prevention of Terrorism Act is reviewed annually and no one has made the allegation that the annual review of that Act softens it. The new law may be renewable but it is still draconian by any stretch of the imagination and is informed by the RUC and Garda and Irish government and police in this country."
However, writing in the Observer yesterday, the Northern Ireland Secretary, Dr Mo Mowlam, insisted the new legislation would be compatible with the European Convention on Human Rights and would need to be reviewed by parliament each year. "The legislation is not a blunt instrument but a precise tool to help the police in their efforts to bring those few individuals still engaged in violence to justice."
While the British government expects the legislation will be ratified by parliament with relatively little opposition, Labour backbenchers such as Mr McNamara, Mr Jeremy Corbyn and Mr Tam Dalyell have expressed reservations. The Tories will also use the recall of parliament to press their concerns about decommissioning and the early release of terrorist prisoners.