Tony McNulty fails to convice that Labour is trying to be less repressive
Home Office Minister Tony "not fit for purpose" McNulty, seems to be trying to sound a bit more conciliatary towards his critics and opponents , presumably as a cynical pre-election ploy, according to this BBC report:
'Mistakes' made over 7/7 reactionHome Office Security Minister Tony McNulty has admitted the government made mistakes in response to the 7 July 2005 bomb attacks in London.
He said the government should not have treated the Muslim Council of Britain as the only voice of British Muslims.
At a Labour Party conference fringe meeting, he warned against rushing into laws in response to a terror threat.
Echoing Tony Blair's phrase on dealing with terrorism, he said: "Actually the rules of the game haven't changed."
[...]
Mr McNulty told the meeting in Bournemouth: "I think we have made mistakes since 7/7."
He said one of these mistakes was Mr Blair's argument that people must be ready to accept reductions in their civil liberties in the fight against terror because "the rules of the game have changed".
Within weeks of the 7 July attacks, Mr Blair unveiled a raft of legislative measures to tackle terrorists, including tougher deportation and extradition powers, a new offence of glorifying terrorism and powers to close a place of worship.
But in his speech on Wednesday, Mr McNulty suggested that ministers had been too ready to adopt exceptional measures which could impact on the liberties enjoyed as part of the British way of life.
He distanced himself from the phrase "war on terror" stressing that terrorism should be tackled through "normal" rather than "exceptional" means.
"With the best will in the world, where we are at now as a government means that we are coming round to the view that says, actually, the rules of the game haven't changed..." he said.
"The more these things are tackled through normality, with some little exceptions on top, rather than absolutely by exception, the better.
"The more any response is rooted in our civil liberties and human rights, with whatever slight tweaks at the top, the better," he said.
[...]
He said lessons had been learned from last summer's botched terror raids in London "by not rushing headlong into looking at legislation instantly and with very short shrift, but by taking the time to develop a broader counter-terrorism response by government in all its facets".
[...]
If this is a genuine change of policy, then let him and his Labour colleagues prove it, by actually repealing some of the draconian and counterproductive repressive legislation which they alone have been responsible for. e.g. the Identity Cards Act 2006 and the Terrorism Act 2006
Where is the independent Public Inquiry or Royall Commission to investigate the July 2005 bomb attacks and attempted bomb attacks in London, including the role of the the intelligence agencies ?
Where is there an actual "hearts and minds" strategy to fight the root causes of the terrorist attacks ?
We are not holding our breath in anticipation.
Comments
The Big Lie has very nearly served its purpose.
The databases are nearly finished, the government has most of the information it needs, so the pretence can be relaxed.
In line with its other smoke and mirrors actions, as I have indicated before, the ID cards will be scrapped (as the front end is really not needed, it will be incorporated into credit and bank cards in 2010 as part of the SEPA project), but for all intents and purposes will appear to give in to public pressure.
See, Gordo does listen they will say, we have scrapped the ID cards. But the databases and people control mechanisms will still be there.
* The War on Terror is a direct result of the events of 9/11 in New York and 7/7 in London, events that have never been fully explained, and much speculation still exists with regard to governmental complicity whether direct or indirect, and the flat refusal by the US and UK governments to hold full enquiries only fuels that suspicion.
The Big Lie in this context is not of the events themselves, nor the perpetrators, but the proportionality of the response. In over exaggerating the dangers, the Big Lie is developed.
http://tinyurl.com/ypfp5f
Posted by: IanP | September 28, 2007 3:26 PM
Miles Cooper:
"One man's terrorist is another man's freedom-fighter".
"When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty".
"People should not be afraid of their governments. Governments should be afraid of their people".
Posted by: Mr A. Non | September 29, 2007 11:59 AM