POLICE in Lancashire have criticised a new legal ruling on bailing criminal suspects — saying it is ‘hard to believe’ the decision that has been made.

Officers will no longer be able to bail suspects for more than four days without either charging or releasing them.

At present people can be freed on bail for months while further investigations are carried out.

Lancashire police today said around 2,500 people were currently on bail.

The county’s Police Federation said it would mean criminals could escape prosecution, while pressure on officers would ‘dramatically increase’ at a time when budgets are being cut.

The decision was made by a district judge and backed by a judicial review in the High Court.

It challenges an interpretation of the law which has been used for the last 25 years and means releasing suspects on bail and calling them back for questioning weeks later, a common practice in most major inquiries, is ‘pretty much a dead duck’.

Moves are now being made in government to change the law to overrule the judge’s decision, and former Home Secretary Jack Straw, Blackburn MP, said it must happen ‘very quickly’.

The decision affects new investigations, not people on bail now.

Rachel Baines, Lancashire Police Federation’s vice chair, said: “Police bail is a valuable tool and it is hard to believe that we are being asked to operate under this restraint.

“It is going to dramatically increase the time pressure on officers.

“There are important implications for victims. A lot of people already have the view that the system is weighted in the favour of criminals and this only adds to that.

“We will now support the Home Office in attempts to change the law.”

Mr Straw added: “The Home Secretary needs to appeal or create new legislation through parliament to bring a swift end to this situation. The government would have support from Labour on this.

“The current situation cannot go on.”

Advice has now been sent to all police chiefs, including that suspects cannot now be re-arrested unless there is new evidence.