Police fail in Supreme Court bail fight

Three Supreme Court justices yesterday dismissed the “unusual” application from Greater Manchester Police (GMP) to stay the judgment pending a full appeal at the same court on July 25.

The initial ruling, made by a district judge and backed by a judicial review in May, means officers can no longer bail suspects for more than four days without either charging or releasing them.

MPs will vote on emergency bail legislation tomorrow to reverse the limitation, which is expected to be passed before going before the House of Lords next week,

The court’s decision comes as Home Secretary Theresa May prepares to give evidence on the issue to the Commons home affairs select committee and follows warnings from Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper that Mrs May must get a grip on the situation because the bail limitation puts victims of domestic violence in danger.

The row started when district judge Jonathan Finestein, sitting at Salford Magistrates’ Court, refused an application from GMP for a warrant of further detention of murder suspect Paul Hookway on April 5. High Court judge Mr Justice McCombe confirmed the ruling in a judicial review on May 19, which meant time spent on police bail counted towards the maximum 96-hour limit of pre-charge detention.

The full implications became clear after the written judgment was released on June 17. For the past 25 years, police and the courts have only counted the time spent being questioned or in police custody towards the limit, with many suspects being released on bail for months before being called back.

Sir Norman Bettison, chief constable of West Yorkshire Police, highlighted problems it has caused his officers last week.