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Government legislation on the prevention and investigation of terrorism is a missed opportunity to put right serious flaws in the control order regime it is meant to replace, says the Lords Constitution Committee.

In its report on the Terrorism Prevention and Investigation Measures Bill, the Committee says that the Bill's proposed measures do not adequately address a "serious and continuing failure of public policy". The report questions whether the UK should adopt a permanent scheme of what are meant to be "extraordinary" powers for dealing with terrorist suspects.

The report also:

• says that the Bill should specify that the courts are expected to give "significantly more intensive scrutiny" to such measures than is common practice in judicial review
• asks the Government to explain why "constitutionally problematic" draft emergency legislation is once again being proposed by the Home Office, given that a joint committee of MPs and Peers has recently expressed grave misgivings about the use of such legislation.

The Terrorism Prevention and Investigation Measures Bill is due to have its second reading (main debate) in the Lords on Wednesday 5 October.

Further information

• About Parliament: Select Committees