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Government to roll back Labour's 'erosion of civil liberties'
WHOLESALE measures to "reverse the substantial erosion of civil liberties" were set out by the new coalition Government today.
Reform of mammoth state databases, DNA retention and anti-terror laws were promised by the Conservative Liberal Democrat administration.
Senior politicians pledged to implement a "full programme of measures" that would turn back the clock on many key Labour policies.
Many commentators were struck before the general election by how much common ground there was between the two parties on civil liberties and government control.
The Tory Liberal Democrat pact has immediately turned its sights on some of the former government's most unpopular policies.
A Freedom or Great Repeal Bill will be introduced outlining the limitations of the State over individual freedoms.
This may mean the Conservatives have backed away from their call to replace the Human Rights Act with a British Bill of Rights.
A vast array of expensive and complex state-controlled information databases were heading for oblivion.
These will include the national identity register, biometric passports and the Contact Point Database, established to protect children from harm.
Police forces will adopt the Scottish model for DNA retention, which has been praised by the European Court of Human Rights.
The profiles of someone who is prosecuted but not convicted can be kept for three years north of the border, compared with six years in England and Wales.
The records of suspects in Scotland can still be kept on the database for longer if they are considered a risk to the public.
The new Government also announced that the storage of internet and email records "without good reason" would also come to an end.
This was likely to signal the demise of a Government database aimed at holding details of every phone call and email made in Britain.
Some senior police officers and security service officials said the information was needed to defend the country from terrorists and organised criminals.
Fingerprinting children at school, a practice that has sparked outrage across Britain, will be banned without the permission of parents.
Safeguards against the misuse of counter terrorism legislation, including stop and search tactics, will also be introduced.
Freedom of information laws will be extended, the use of CCTV regulated more tightly and moves made to defend the right of every defendant to be tried by jury.
A new "mechanism" will be introduced for blocking unnecessary new criminal offences, something that is sure to be welcomed by police leaders.
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Weather for Yorkshire
Saturday 11 February 2012
Today
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Temperature: -2 C to 1 C
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