Photograph: WENN Rights Ltd/Alamy
For much of his career, David Winnick, Labour MP for 42 years – representing Walsall North for 38 of them – was a dogged parliamentarian, originally of the Tribunite left and never aspiring to ministerial office. Yet he will be best remembered for an act of singular courage when he succeeded in defeating the plans of the Blair government in its Iraq war-era attempt to hold terrorist suspects for up to 90 days without charge.
Winnick, who has died aged 92, had supported the invasion of Iraq in 2003, but took his stand on civil liberties grounds and, much to the aggravation of ministers, led the charge against the prolonged detention proposal in the Commons in 2005 – and then in the home affairs committee against a further attempt by the subsequent Brown administration to hold suspects for 42 days. Winnick’s successful amendment limited the term to 28 days; the vote against the terror bill was the first defeat for the Labour goverment, nine years after taking power.
