New plan: Theresa May wants to move to end the issue of people left in legal limbo while on bail
Martin Bentham @martinbentham18 December 2014
Theresa May has announced plans to put a 28-day time limit on the use of police bail, following concerns that people were being left in legal limbo as proceedings dragged on for months or years.
The Home Secretary said it “cannot be right that people can spend months or even years on pre-charge bail with no oversight” as she launched a consultation on the time limit.
The consultation proposes that the 28-day limit could only be extended in exceptional circumstances through an application to a magistrates’ court.
Mrs May said: “I believe we need a statutory time limit in place to ensure people do not spend months or even years on bail, only for no charges to be brought.”
