Guantánamo and Belmarsh

My Lord Mayor,

On 15th June 1996 this City saw first hand, though not for the first time, the devastation that terrorism can bring. It was a matter of good fortune that lives were not lost that day. Amongst the ruins left by the IRA bomb that ripped apart the centre of Manchester stood an undamaged red pillar box. It became an iconic image.

When, on the 11th September 2001 the site on which the Twin Towers in New York had stood became a similar iconic image for the world, this City fully empathised with the people of New York, Washington and the world.

I recall the torment faced by my colleagues Simon and James Ashley and their families as they told of how difficult it had been waiting for contact from Simon's brother, to find out that fortunately he had not been in the building at the time of the bombing.

This Council opened books of remembrance, and this nation opened its heart.

When Afghanistan was invaded by the coalition against terrorism, it was with a view to ending the terrorism symbolised by what had befallen America. We knew then the battle against terror would be a long and hard fought battle.

Can it though be right that the very freedom and justice that we seek is set aside in the battle against terrorism?

Despite a major international outcry and expert condemnation of US government policy, hundreds of people of around 35 different nationalities including Britons remain held in a legal black hole at the US Naval Base in Guantánamo Bay in Cuba, many without access to any court, legal counsel or family visits. Denied their rights under international law and held in conditions which may amount to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, the detainees face severe psychological distress. There have been numerous suicide attempts.

Can the justice, freedom and democracy we seek to protect be truly preserved if we can set it aside so willingly in its own pursuit?

Here too, in Britain, our hands are not clean. In Belmarsh we hold captives who have not been charged with any wrongdoing against which to be tried. Last week the Law Lords determined that the detention of nine people in Belmarsh under anti-terrorism legislation was wrong.

How ironic that with all of this happening, David Blunkett should have been forced to resign as Home Secretary over the fast-tracking of a visa application.

This is a ground-breaking decision. The Government was repeatedly warned in 2001 that these measures would be illegal, but chose to ignore those warnings. This is an early opportunity for the new Home Secretary, Charles Clarke, to show he is serious about the principles of justice and will listen to the views of the judiciary.

Indeed a leading QC, Ian MacDonald, resigned from the panel of barristers representing terrorist suspects held without trial, saying he expected others to follow suit in protest against a law he called "an odious blot on our legal landscape". Five more barristers are reported to be threatening to resign in protest at the government's anti-terror laws.

This is further evidence that the Government must urgently review its terrorist legislation. The Home Secretary should make a statement to the House of Commons to tell MPs how he will respond to the Law Lords ruling. He should also now urgently move to allow the use of intercept communications as evidence in criminal cases, so that cases like these can be brought to trial in the normal way.

Let me make absolutely clear that this Council does not consider the treatment of the Belmarsh captives as being 'the same' as the degrading, humiliating and inhuman mistreatment of the Guantánamo captives. But the question of justice is the same.

Let me also make absolutely clear that this Council is not calling for the immediate release of those people held either by America or by Britain. What we are calling for is that they are either charged with criminal activity or released. What we are calling for is justice.

These are concerns shared by Amnesty International and Liberty, and they are concerns that are at the heart of this notice of motion today.

On the night of the Lord Mayor's Civic Reception I attended a meeting at the Friends Meeting House, where many people had gathered to discuss the situation at Guantánamo Bay. What struck me most was that they were adamant that whilst Belmarsh was not the same situation in terms of the conditions faced the question of detention without charge or trial was the same question.

Although a Manchester man, JAMAL AL-HARITH, the former Ronald Fiddler, a Briton who was born in Manchester and converted to Islam, had the rare distinction of being accused by the Taliban of being a British spy and then suspected by the American government of being a terrorist. In October 2001, on a trip across Afghanistan to Iran, he was seized by the Taliban and imprisoned in Kandahar. When the Taliban government was toppled, the American military placed him in Camp X-Ray, a detention centre (later replaced by Camp Delta) at Guantánamo Bay, the United States naval base in Cuba.

Jamal Al-Harith has subsequently been returned to Britain, but whilst any person is unjustly held captive by our nation or any of our allies outwith our judicial processes can any one of us truly be free?

Claims that the UK has committed war crimes against Iraqi civilians are being examined by the International Criminal Court after complaints by a panel of legal experts. In a letter seen by The Independent on Sunday, Luis Moreno Ocampo, the chief prosecutor, indicated that his office has now begun the formal process of gathering evidence about the claims and is now expected to ask the Government to explain its military strategy in Iraq.

The UK's conduct of warfare will now be open to acute review, and British conduct and policy will be judged by higher standards than ever before.

During my time on this council I have many times spoken against racism and other hate crimes, terrorism and blind prejudice, but I can honestly say that never have my concerns been as great as they are today.

When the laws of democratic nations are set aside in the defence of the way of life they were established to protect then the very essence of our nationhood and our democracy is brought into question.

Before long our citizens will lose the right to walk our streets free. When the ID cards are introduced we will for the first time be presumed guilty until we produce that card to prove ourselves innocent.

In the latest commons debate, whilst many Labour and Tory MP's stayed away from the chamber in protest, nineteen Labour MPs, including the former cabinet minister Clare Short, voted against the Government at second reading, while 10 Tory MPs defied Michael Howard and failed to back the Bill. All Liberal Democrat MPs, voted against the Bill.

My Lord Mayor, when the fear of terrorism is used as an excuse to deprive us of basic freedoms we will have let the terrorists win. It is imperative that we do not let them win. That is why this Council is absolutely right today to pass this notice of motion.

That is why we must always be prepared to say that nobody is above, or beyond or outwith the law, and today we call for the captives both in Gauntanamo and in Belmarsh to be either charged with criminal activity, or freed. Further, if they are charged then we call for a fair and free trial.