British court rules in favor of human rights

For what it's worth.

Britain's highest court dealt a blow to the government's anti-terrorism policies on Thursday by ruling that the detention of foreign terrorist suspects without trial is illegal.

A panel of Law Lords ruled in favor of nine Muslim men who were appealing against being held without charge under Britain's Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Act on suspicion of being involved in terrorist attacks.

The legislation, introduced in the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States, allows British police to detain foreign terrorist suspects indefinitely without charge or trial if they are suspected of involvement in international terrorism and opt not to leave the country.

The Law Lords ruled that such detention on suspicion alone runs contrary to European human rights laws.

Xinhuanet article

Well, good.

So how do you make a law that contravenes another law in the first place? And should the contravening law be abolished?

The ruling deals a severe blow to Prime Minister Tony Blair's government, coming just hours after Home Secretary David Blunkett -- the architect of the government's anti-terrorism policies -- resigned over allegations that he fast-tracked the visa application of his former lover's nanny.

Revenge of the nannies week.

It's not expected that those detained under the illegal law (that's funny) will be released, however. The Blair government is just as lawless as the Bush one.