As a general rule, all legislation made in haste is later found to be flawed.
The Dangerous Dogs Act comes to mind as does Tony Blair’s initial plan to detain terror suspects without charge for up to 90 days.
Despite having a locker overflowing with precedents, the Government looks set to be making a similar mistake by rushing through a new anti-terror bill in the wake of the Streatham and London Bridge attacks.
Ministers have set themselves a deadline of just a couple of weeks because they want the legislation on the statue book before the release of other convicted terrorists.
The new law will end automatic release halfway through a sentence for more than 200 convicted terrorists locked in British jails.
Alison Phillips explains here why keeping people in prison, where they risk becoming radicalised, could be counter productive.
(Image: Barcroft Media via Getty Images)
The Government is fully aware that by seeking to apply the law retrospectively it is setting itself on a collision course with the courts.
It is a battle it relishes as it gives them a chance to stoke the flames of its Trumpian we are on the side of people against the establishment narrative
Given a choice between what is the popular thing to do and what is the responsible thing to do it will always pick the former.
Ministers will argue, with some conviction, that keeping the public safe should always take priority.
The issue here is not whether the threat posed by radicalised former convicts needs to be dealt with but whether its proposed action will be effective.
In the Lords this week Lord Carlile, the former independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, questioned why the Government does not bring back control orders which worked “extremely well” before they were abolished by the Coalition government in 2011.
It is a question that deserves an answer before Boris Johnson launches into yet another divisive culture war.
(Image: EMPICS Entertainment)
An opinion poll this week puts the Conservatives on a dizzying 49% with Labour marooned on 30%.
If repeated at an election this would hand the Tories a majority of more than 250 seats.
This should be a sobering warning to Labour of the task it faces if it wants to win back public trust.
Unfortunately it has not stopped deputy leadership contender Richard Burgon of coming up with one of the daftest policy ideas ever proposed on the stump.
Burgon is proposing that Labour members should be balloted before a Prime Minister is allowed to authorise military action.
It is difficult to decide which is more depressing: that Burgon thinks this is in any way practical or that some Labour members will vote for him as a result.
Today’s agenda:
8.15am – Boris Johnson chairs Cabinet.
9.30am – Environment, Food and Rural Affairs questions in the Commons.
10.30am – Jacob Rees-Mogg gives the regular update on House of Commons business.
11.30am (approx) – General debate in the Commons on historic stillbirth burials and cremations.
1.30pm – Chris Bryant MP leads a Westminster Hall debate on acquired brain injuries.
What I am reading:
Day four of Ben Glaze’s tour of red wall constituencies takes him to his home country of Wales
And
Rafael Behr on how the greatest threat to Boris Johnson lies on the Tory benches
