In particular, there has been talk of reviving the so called ‘Snoopers’ Charter – plans contained in the Draft Communications Data Bill for the blanket storage of everyone’s internet and phone records.
Such a response is sad and frustratingly predictable. The Prime Minister deserves credit for his calm and measured response and his rejection of “knee-jerk reactions”. It’s extremely objectionable to play politics with people’s fear, to push more authoritarian measures on a public still grappling with incomplete information.
Legislation like this will not make us safer, only harm our freedom. Control orders and their rebrand, TPIMs, punish those who choose to comply, dishonour due process, but won’t stop a terrorist intent on doing harm. And similarly, the measures contained in the Snoopers’ Charter would easily have been evaded by criminals, through the use of pay-as-you-go mobiles and encryption. Meanwhile, they would intrude on the intimate online life of every innocent man, woman and child in the country. We have to reflect and learn from past mistakes, not unthinkingly rehash already debunked ideas.
The Prime Minister responded to the attack by saying “The terrorists will never win, because they can never beat the values that we hold dear.” This is spot on – the best response we can give to terrorism is the reassertion of our core values, not their dereliction. Whenever we abandon the principles of justice, tolerance and freedom we hand a victory to those intent on destruction who we seek to defeat.
Acts like these and subsequent ugly reprisals are designed to terrorise and provoke – to sow division between communities and allow hatred to win out. Our response must be guided by our best traditions of freedom, empathy and the rule of law. We must resist calls for legislation that won’t make us safer – only less free.
