Prevention of Terrorism Acts facts for kids
| Act of Parliament | |
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| Long title | An Act to proscribe organisations concerned in terrorism, and to give power to exclude certain persons from Great Britain or the United Kingdom in order to prevent acts of terrorism, and for connected purposes. |
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| Citation | 1974 c. 56 |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 29 November 1974 |
| Act of Parliament | |
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| Long title | An Act to repeal and re-enact with amendments the provisions of the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act 1976. |
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| Citation | 1984 c. 8 |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 22 March 1984 |
| Other legislation | |
| Repealed by | Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act 1989 |
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Status: Repealed
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The Prevention of Terrorism Acts were a group of laws passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom. These laws were in effect from 1974 to 1989. They gave special powers to police forces. These powers were used when police suspected someone was involved in terrorism.
These laws were based on an older law from 1939. That law was called the Prevention of Violence Act 1939. It was created to stop violence by the Irish Republican Army (IRA). The 1939 law ended in 1953. It was brought back in 1974 as the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act 1974.
Later, in 2000, these Acts were replaced. A new law called the Terrorism Act 2000 took their place. This new law included many of the same powers. Another law, the Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005, followed. You can also learn about the Terrorism (Northern Ireland) Act 2006.
Contents
What Powers Did These Acts Give?
Section 8 of the 1974 Prevention of Terrorism Act gave police special temporary powers. They could question people traveling between Northern Ireland and Great Britain. This included travel within the UK and the Common Travel Area. Similar powers still exist today under the Terrorism Act 2000.
How Did These Acts Affect Information?
These Acts were also used in cases involving censorship. Censorship means controlling what people can see or hear. In 1980, the BBC's Panorama TV show filmed the IRA. The police took the film under these Acts. This happened after many people in Parliament and the news complained.
The Acts were also used in 1991 against Channel 4. This was for a report called Dispatches. New powers in the 1989 version of the Act allowed this.
Why Were These Acts Created?
The first Act was passed in 1974. This happened after the IRA carried out bombings in the early 1970s. Roy Jenkins, who was the Home Secretary (a top government minister), introduced the Act. It was a very strong and urgent response to the Birmingham pub bombings.
On November 21, 1974, IRA pub bombings in Birmingham killed 21 people. Another 184 people were hurt. There was a strong feeling that the country needed to respond. People saw it as a huge threat.
The idea for the law was announced on November 25. The Home Secretary said the powers were "Draconian." This means they were very harsh. He also said they were "unprecedented in peacetime." This means they had never been used before when the country was not at war.
Parliament quickly supported the law. It was passed by November 29. It went through the House of Commons on November 28 and 29. It passed through the House of Lords on November 29. The law was passed with almost no changes or disagreements. Much of the law had actually been planned in secret the year before.
The Philips commission looked into criminal procedures. Its report in 1981 influenced the 1984 law.
The Acts were rewritten in 1976, 1984, and 1989. But they were still seen as emergency "temporary" powers. This meant they had to be approved again each year. The first three Acts had a final end date. The 1989 Act did not include this.
See also
- Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act 1989
- Terrorism Acts since 2000
- Diplock courts
- Royal Commission on Criminal Procedure, 1981
- Censorship in the United Kingdom
- 1988–1994 British broadcasting voice restrictions
