Six men arrested under terror laws during the papal visit last year were
never involved in any plot to kill the Pope, but police used their
powers "lawfully and appropriately", a review has found.
David
Anderson QC, the independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, said:
"There is no reason to believe, with the benefit of hindsight, that any
of the arrested men was involved in a plot to kill the Pope, or indeed
that any such plot existed."
But he added that the police used their powers under the Terrorism Act 2000 "lawfully and appropriately".
But
Mr Anderson warned that there will be "future temptations" to use the
anti-terrorism powers "in relation to individuals as to whom the
necessary reasonable suspicions do not exist", particularly as the UK
prepares to host the Olympic Games next year.
"Constant vigilance
is required to ensure that the legal boundaries of those powers are
respected, as they were in this case," he said.
The six men, who
were all Muslims of North African origin, were released without charge
after being arrested in London last September.
The Government's
terrorism watchdog launched the review last November to examine whether
the police used their powers correctly when they arrested the men and
whether there was any other way they could have dealt with the suspected
threat.
Searches of the premises did not uncover any weapons or
suspicious materials, Scotland Yard said. Reports at the time suggested
the men were all street cleaners and had simply been overheard sharing a
joke in their canteen.
Home Secretary Theresa May said: "I am
grateful to David Anderson for his detailed report - his first as
independent reviewer for terrorism legislation. I am also pleased
that he finds that the police exercised the powers afforded them under
the Terrorism Act 2000 lawfully and appropriately in seeking to prevent
what they had reasonably suspected was a potential terrorist plot. I
welcome both his finding and his recommendations and intend to publish
the Government's full response shortly."