Chaos over ruling that suspects can walk free after 96 hours

Tens of thousands of murderers, rapists and violent criminals could escape prosecution following a High Court ruling which means police officers will no longer be able to bail suspects for more than four days without either charging or releasing them.

The decision is at odds with the interpretation of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act which has been used for the past 25 years. That has allowed police to release suspects on police bail and call them back for questioning weeks later as a matter of course. But now the police will be able to re-arrest suspects after four days only if they have discovered new evidence against them.

One chief constable said the ruling has left police "running round like headless chickens" and the Home Secretary Theresa May said the decision was a "matter of great concern". The Government is now considering appealing the decision, or introducing emergency legislation to prevent meltdown in the bail system.

The ruling came in a case involving Greater Manchester Police, and was made by a district judge at Salford magistrates' court and backed by the High Court. The district judge in Manchester decided murder suspect Paul Hookway should not be hauled back to the interrogation room after he was bailed.

Mr Hookway was first arrested last November. A superintendent granted permission for him to be detained for up to 36 hours for questioning, but he was released on bail after 28 hours. Five months later, police applied to the courts to extend the period of detention from 36 hours to the maximum allowed of 96 hours. But the district judge refused the application, saying that the 96 hours had expired months ago.

Greater Manchester Police applied to the High Court for a judicial review of the case, but Mr Justice McCombe upheld the district judge's decision and refused leave to appeal. The force is seeking leave to appeal to the Supreme Court.

Estimates suggest there are 85,000 people on police bail nationwide – all of whom would walk free within four days of arrest under the new rules, if not charged or released. The Metropolitan Police Service said it had 14,029 suspects on police bail, while Greater Manchester Police has 3,864 and North Yorkshire 4,260.

Last night, David Cameron's spokesman said the Prime Minister was dismayed by the ruling and that the Government would be prepared to rush through emergency legislation to shore up the bail system. He said: "We want to make sure this [ruling] does not inhibit the police. If necessary, we will introduce legislation. We are looking at the implications of the ruling."

Home Secretary Theresa May added: "We're working with [senior police officers] as to how we can advise the police on this issue. There may be an opportunity to appeal this decision."

Sir Norman Bettison, the Chief Constable of West Yorkshire Police, commented: "We are running round like headless chickens wondering what this means to the nature of justice."