Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has had discussions with Cabinet colleagues on the reintroduction of Control Orders.

Protecting the British public is the Government’s first priority.

This Government is committed to ensuring that appropriate tools are available to the police and Security Service for the protection of national security.

There are no plans at this time to re-introduce control orders. Terrorism Prevention and Investigation Measures (TPIMs) give the Security Service and police powerful measures to help manage the risk posed. They provide some of the most restrictive measures available in the democratic world. TPIMs have been endorsed by the courts, counter-terrorism reviewers, the police, and the Security Service. The police and Security Service believe TPIMs reduce the national security risk posed by those subject to them.

We also have a range of other measures available. These include: stringent conditions during any post-release licence period; notification requirements for terrorist offenders, which only last year the Government strengthened; and Serious Crime Prevention Orders, which were extended to terrorist offenders last year and provide the police with strengthened powers to manage terrorists on their release.

Last week we also announced that we are considering whether new legislation is required to provide additional assurance when terrorist offenders are released from prison.

We will do everything we can to protect the public.