INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION
1 Today the Home Secretary has announced to Parliament his intention to bring forward a new counter terrorism Bill later this year.
2 Some of the measures that might be included in a future bill are briefly outlined in this paper. This is the start of a process of consultation with interested parties both inside and outside Parliament. This will include publication of a fuller content paper in the next few weeks, the sharing of draft clauses later in the year and scrutiny by the Home Affairs Select Committee and the Joint Committee on Human Rights, before any legislation is introduced.
3 These legal measures are just one part of the Government’s overall counter terrorism strategy. This includes a refocused Home Office with the creation of the Office for Security and Counter Terrorism which delivers a new drive, more cohesion and a greater strategic capacity in the fight against terror. By 2008, annual spending on counter-terrorism, intelligence and resilience will reach £2.25bn, which is double what it was prior to September 11. In conjunction with this it is vital that we aim to work with communities to isolate, prevent and defeat violent extremism. Prevention of terrorism must always be the priority and to do this we need the support of communities.
Comments
I'm often rather puzzled by the language used by the Home Office. What does spending on "resilience" actually entail?
Did someone really think that what we need to combat these dastardly terrorists is "more cohesion"? What does that mean?
How can it be vital to aim to do something. If it's acceptable to simply aim to do it, then it can't be that vital can it?
Posted by: Richard | June 18, 2007 10:00 PM
@ Richard - "resilience" is NuSpeak for what used to be known as "Civil Defence" which largely consists of purchasing gas masks and body bags for the Police and Emergency Services, radiation detectors etc..
There has been an utter failure to actually run any realistic civil defence practices and exercises, which involve real members of the public or to hold them at busy times and locations, or even more than once every couple of years or so.
Note also the weasel words:
i.e. less than this amount of money is currently available or being spent.
It could be that this vague figure of £2.5 billion will not be reached until the end of 2008.
Posted by: wtwu | June 18, 2007 11:19 PM