Lord Navnit Dholakia during a debate on release of terrorist prisoners, has stated that great care must be taken to ensure that in ratcheting up the release mechanism of terrorists, as this legislation is not 'counterproductive to the objective of reducing terrorist activities' in our country.
Speaking during Second Reading of the Terrorist Offenders (Restriction of Early Release) Bill, Lord Dholakia stated that, "I accept the Government’s argument that speed is necessary in legislating to prevent the further automatic release of similar offenders in the very near future."
He added, “the argument that offenders of this type should be required to undergo a risk assessment by the Parole Board before they can be released.”
Recognising the good work that the Parole Board does, he highlighted the Parole Board's effectiveness, and said, "[t]he proportion of offenders of all types who are released by the Parole Board and who commit a further serious offence is less than 1%.
"In any system based on human judgment," he stated, "it would be difficult to improve on that record". In achieving this, "additional measures are in place to ensure that these cases are considered by members with expertise and training in terrorist matters".
Lord Dholakia supported "the Bill’s replacing automatic release in these cases with release at the discretion of the Parole Board and emphasised that rehabilitation is key to their effective release. He also added "the change in the minimum term which offenders serving sentences for terrorism-related offences must serve before they are considered for release".
Lord Dholakia's emphasised that the legislation "must be subject to a formal independent review in the near future," particularly when it is "pushed through the House in haste".
