In speaking out against the government's proposed database of telephone and internet records last night, Director of Public Prosecutions Sir Ken Macdonald joined a remarkable cast of critics of Labour's most draconian instincts.
It's not so much criticism from the likes of Lord Carlile of Berriew, the independent reviewer of terrorism laws, that makes the casual observer raise an eyebrow; it's not the voices of principled civil libertarians like Shami Chakrabarti, director of Liberty, or political opponents, whose views can easily be dismissed – as Lib Dem Julia Goldsworthy's were by Geoff Hoon on Question Time last week – as giving 'a licence to terrorists to kill people'.
No, the really startling chorus of opposition to the raft of illiberal policies that has characterised this government is that which has emerged from the security establishment.
It's former MI5 heads Stella Rimington and Eliza Manningham-Buller speaking out against 42 days, and senior members of the Association of Chief Police Officers saying the same thing. It's former Prison Service director general (now Barnado’s Chief Executive) Martin Narey decrying the rate at which we incarcerate children, or Prison Governors Association president Paul Tidball on the government's decision to build Titan prisons 'in the face of unanimous opposition from professional and expert groups'. And it's Brian Gladman, a former director of strategic electronic communications at the Ministry of Defence and US government security consultant, saying that ID cards would be a disaster.
The list goes on. These people are not partisans. They're professionals. They're experts. If anyone is going to have sympathy with the impulse to 'go quite a long way' in undermining freedom to stop terrorism (another Hoonism) and crime and benefit fraud, it is surely them. And if even these people think the government has got it wrong, one has to ask: who on earth does the government consult when it formulates this stuff?
With reference to the article on page 23 of today's Independent (Organic farming "could feed Africa") I hope that somewhere will be published an apology to Prince Charles for the seemingly never-ending gibes he has had to endure on the subject of organic farming and GM crops. I realise this is not a definitive study, but for the UN to endorse a lot of his views is quite a vindication of beliefs he has held for many years now. I admire him for the way he has been prepared to stick his head above the parapet and have people who know little or nothing about farming take pot shots at him - I sometimes wonder where he gets the stamina from to go on.
Posted by: Linda Callcut | Wednesday, 22 October 2008 at 11:08 AM
I suspect that the only consultation that takes place is with Labour's business cronies and expensive private consultants to ensure plenty of well-paid boardroom positions for outgoing ministers.
As for Geoff Hoon's performance on Question Time, it is always an act of desperation to suggest that opponents of the government's intrusive and illiberal agenda are, in some way, pro-terrorist.
We were promised that our way of life would not be affected by the threat of terrorism: nevertheless, that threat has been used to justify ludicrous levels of inconvenience to travel - including the upcoming body-scanners to enable security staff to view our genitalia whenever we choose to fly - and the effective nationalisation (and random distribution!) of our private lives.
The balance between security and liberty is seriously threatened: of course it is appalling that innocent civilians died in terrorist attacks on New York and London but then many more of my parents' generation died in attacks on civilian populations during WWII, a war that was predicated on fighting repression and restoring liberty.
Life is a risky business but life as envisaged by the current government is probably not worth living - my family would choose risk every time.
Posted by: John Levett | Wednesday, 22 October 2008 at 12:56 PM
Consult? What an insult to our leaders! They simply know best. An earlier luminary of the Labour party - one Herbert Morison, grand-dad of Mandy - said 'the purpose of politics is to improve human nature.' No kidding.
So, you see, they don't need, never have, and never will consult.
Posted by: john problem | Thursday, 23 October 2008 at 09:31 AM
Shammy Chakrabarti is principled? Is that a synonym for hysterical? The 42-day law was defeated legally in the British Parliament she claims has no power. Otherwise she is always against anything that makes life more difficult for the criminal, such as CCtv - widely used in police murder investigations.
Posted by: novparl | Friday, 31 October 2008 at 05:13 PM