Britain’s Prime Minister Tony Blair yesterday announced that he would crack down on Northern Ireland violence by proposing legislation that would require only a police officer’s word that a suspect belonged to a banned group to put the suspect in prison. Sinn Fein denounced the plan, calling it an overreaction to the August 15th bombing in Omagh where 25 people were killed.

Guest:

• Martin O’Brien, with the Committee on the Administration of Justice, a group that has monitored human rights abuses under already existing so called anti-terrorist, or emergency legislation in the United Kingdom, and played a role in revealing the links between Northern Ireland police and sectarian, anti-nationalist paramilitaries.