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Terror cop shop ‘should close’
PADDINGTON Green, the police station used to hold terror suspects, should be closed, an independent watchdog has claimed.
A report, by Lib Dem peer Lord Carlile, said the station was “too small and old”.
It recommends that a multi-million pound, state-of-the-art terror unit with 30 cells be built somewhere on the outskirts of London.
Under terror legislation passed last year detectives can hold terror suspects in the station without charge for one month.
And leading human rights solicitor Alistair Lyons, who has visited the cells dozens of times on high-profile terror cases, said the findings could be used to extend “draconian” legislation.
Mr Lyons, who has worked on human rights cases since the mid-1990s, said: “The facilities at Paddington Green are awful particularly for the detainees as there is no natural light.
“It’s like a concrete bunker. There are two interview rooms but they are rarely up and running. Conditions are appalling.”
“There is huge justification for improving facilities – but I would be very concerned that this is just an excuse for extending the length of detention even further than it is.”
He added: “I would be against plans to move it out of London. Clients should be near their solicitors. I think the phrase is ‘out of sight, out of mind’.”
But expanding Paddington Green is out of the question, according to the Lord Carlile’s report, that states “a need for a new building.” High-profile terrorist suspects arrested across the UK are often taken to Paddington Green for interrogation.
Examples include members of the IRA, the British nationals released from Guantanamo Bay, and the 21 July 2005 London bombers.
The IRA bombed the telephone box outside of the police station in 1992 as a demonstration aimed at the British security service.
The cells were criticised in a report last year from the Council of Europe’s anti-torture committee as unsuitable for extended detention.
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