Britain�s Patriot Act?

Sweeping new emergency legal powers to deal with the aftermath of a large terrorist attack in Britain are being considered by the government.
The measures could potentially outlaw participation in a protest march, such as last week's demonstrations during President Bush's state visit, making it, in effect, a criminal offence to criticise government policy.

In an attempt to give the UK government similar powers to those rushed through in the US after the 9/11 attack on New York in 2001, it is understood that a beefed-up version of current civil contingencies law is being considered. It will allow the government to bypass or suspend key parts of the UK's human rights laws without the authority of parliament.

www.sundayherald.com...

Well we should have known this was coming. They've done a lot a work making it seem inevitable, so of course, it is. The most worrying thing is that every authority in government and intelligence on both sides of the Atlantic has constantly been saying that a large attack is a case of when not if. This scaremongering is in my opinion for the sole purpose of making what happens next (like the outcomes mentioned recently by Gen. Tommy Franks) seem more palatable, acceptable and unavoidable to the public. If we are made to see an attack as inevitable, then so to we will see the resultant powers used as inevitable.

They not bothered about you being prepared for an attack, just for what they�re going to do afterwards.



I'm also not liking the sound of this...

This week's Queen's Speech will see the most radical programme any government has put forward, Peter Hain has said.
The Commons leader told BBC One's Politics Show "everybody will be excited" by the legislation planned for the next year.

Measures to crack down on terrorism, illegal immigration and failed asylum seekers will be one of the centrepieces, he said, but they have already sparked controversy.

news.bbc.co.uk...

Actually the powers already exist and have done for a very long time - it was only recently that the Prevention of Terrorism Act - 1972 was repealed.

Although this act applied specifically to Northern Ireland - and points of entry to the UK - with the exception of certain cases it was a wide sweeping and comprehensive set of powers. Basically the act allowed unlimited rights of stop and search and extended the rights of detention without charge and suspended habeas corpus for suspects.

Indeed so wide sweeping were the interogations allowed by the act that Amnesty International censured the UK.

If some of the stories are true - and I cant vouch for them given their sources - some of the alleged things that went on at Castlereagh Holding Centre make Guantanamo Bay look like a holiday camp.

As stated this counrty has many laws for a raft of problems should they arise from simple crowd controls to clearing areas around airports in time of war( as in flatening houses)

The day they take away my right to protest is the day I buy a gun.

The key word here is new. The changes they are looking for aren't covered in our current anti terrorist legislations, that�s why they want to introduce new ones. The legislation we have in force at present are the Terrorism Act 2000 and the Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001. Neither of these comes close to the Patriot Act in terms of civil liberties infringements or evocable powers.

Here's a little Q&A on the acts that currently cover Terrorism in Britain:

news.bbc.co.uk...

[Edited on 24-11-2003 by kegs]

And here comes some of it:


Ministers will be able to bypass Parliament to make emergency regulations.

Police will be able to ban public gatherings, impose curfews, seize property.

The Human Rights Act could be suspended.

news.bbc.co.uk...

Vauge doesn't even begin to cover it.