The Terrorism Act 2000: An Interview with Gareth Peirce

Abstract

In 2000, a new Terrorism Act, incorporating the broadest ever definition of terrorism and giving police and prosecutors freedom to arrest almost anyone involved in some way with refugee solidarity work, was passed. Then, on 29 March 2001, under the first order made under the Act, twenty-one organisations were proscribed through provisions which allow for the banning of organisations which the home secretary believes are involved in terrorism, or promote or encourage terrorism.¹ As refugee communities began mobilising against the law, and particularly its Proscribed Organisations Order, Liz Fekete asked the civil rights lawyer Gareth Peirce, who has defended those accused of terrorist offences for over two decades, to examine the historical and political context of this the latest addition to the UK’s anti-terrorist legislation.