Ministers 'using fear of terror'

Ministers 'using fear of terror'

news.bbc.co.uk

A former head of MI5 has accused the government of exploiting the fear of terrorism and trying to bring in laws that restrict civil liberties.

In an interview in a Spanish newspaper, published in the Daily Telegraph, Dame Stella Rimington, 73, also accuses the US of "tortures".

The Home Office said it was vital to strike a right balance between privacy, protection and sharing personal data.

It said any policies which impact on privacy must be "proportionate".

Dame Stella, who stood down as the director general of the security service in 1996, has previously been critical of the government's policies, including its attempts to extend pre-charge detention for terror suspects to 42 days and the controversial plan to introduce ID cards.

"It would be better that the government recognised that there are risks, rather than frightening people in order to be able to pass laws which restrict civil liberties, precisely one of the objects of terrorism - that we live in fear and under a police state," she told the Spanish newspaper La Vanguardia.

(visit the link for the full news article)

This is a very interesting story and I am wondering what ATS members in the UK think about this and for everyone else will we see ex-CIA members admitting the same things here? This is because I am under the impression the MI5 and the CIA are comparable agencies. Please do correct me if I am wrong.

news.bbc.co.uk
(visit the link for the full news article)

Steeeeelllllaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!

Ahem. I've never heard of this "Dame Stella" but she certainly seems to be on the right track here.

This assertion however:

"The US has gone too far with Guantanamo and the tortures," she said.

"MI5 does not do that. Furthermore it has achieved the opposite effect - there are more and more suicide terrorists finding a greater justification."

Is a bit dubious since MI5 has been linked numerous times to coordinating with CIA Agents in Afghanistan when it detained a number of British nationals. MI5 knew these nationals were being tortured in Guantanamo and even recieved briefs from the CIA regarding extracted information but kept this silent until the American government promptly dropped all charges and released them.

They might not torture themselves, but doing it by proxy is no better.

I live in uk, and you want to see what i have been through. Uk does torture, as my life has proved it, it just does not make the papers.

The uk, use so many weapons on people, that may be targets of the intelligence services, but no one can ever speak out against them.

Originally posted by andy1033
I live in uk, and you want to see what i have been through. Uk does torture, as my life has proved it, it just does not make the papers.

Doesn't make the papers ? It doesn't make ATS either.

Many contributors would be interested to learn what you have gone through. Perhaps you could start a thread of your own detailing your own torture at the hands of the British state, interesting reading I'm sure.

Dame Stella's criticisms seem perfectly valid although I doubt many in government or even the Security Service will take much notice. I'm quite sure they were aware of torture in US facilities and were as equally aware that rendition flights were passing through UK airports. Ministerial papers, emails etc will make for interesting reading but they won't be made available in my lifetime, unfortunately.

Ok I found an article that is about a month old that is showing there is an obvious "rift" between the CIA and MI5...here's what I found

www.javno.com...

Although the MI5 is planning on doubling its membership until 2011, when the number should be 4,100 members, many within the American intelligence believe that this is not enough and that Britons cannot stop the activities of potential terrorists on their own, the Daily Telegraph writes.

Otherwise, American-British relations became a bit strenuous when the British Supreme Court accused the USA of threats last week. It claimed that the USA was planning on withdrawing intelligence information if the documents on the abuse of Guantanamo prisoner Binyam Mohamed were published. Experts of intelligence services believe that such information remaining secret was the key to national security.

I wonder if these agencies are now trying to cut all ties with each other....and what the implications would be.