Commenting on the Home Secretary’s announcement that stop and search powers will be subject to stricter conditions, Tom Brake MP, Co-Chair of the Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Committee for Home Affairs, Justice and Equality, said: “This is a very welcome announcement. Section 44 was an unreasonable power, applied in an indiscriminate way.

“This change strengthens our civil liberties, building on a longstanding commitment from Liberal Democrats.

“When the Labour benches attacked the coalition for what they described as an obsession with defending civil liberties, it just highlighted their dangerous obsession with eroding them.”