[selected.by.rael at rael-science.org: [rael-science] UK: The politics of paranoia]

[Eugen Leitl]

Source: The Independent
http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/politics/article338692.ece



The politics of paranoia


Nobody is off limits in the Prime Minister's war
on terror. Now he wants to dispose of the 'Wilson
Doctrine' and bug his own MPs. But does the state
need more power to spy on us? Francis Elliott reports



A Prime Minister deeply distrustful of many of
his own MPs, intent on fighting a war with the
"enemy within". Parallels between Tony Blair and
Harold Wilson have been charted before. The news
that Mr Blair is preparing to ditch his
predecessor's pledge never to tap the phones of
Britain's MPs suggests that the current occupant
of No 10 has less regard for constitutional niceties.

Mr Blair knows that bugging elected
representatives will be fiercely opposed by many
in Parliament but is confident he can argue the
case over their heads that nothing - and no one -
should be off-limits in the fight against
terrorism. "Let no one be in any doubt," he
declared in the wake of the London bombings, "the
rule of the game are changing."

In truth, say critics, the rules have been
changing ever since Mr Blair became PM and he has
overseen a massive expansion of the state's
capacity to spy on private individuals. There can
be little doubt that, over the past eight years,
technology and new legislation have significantly
increased the security services' capacity to peer into our lives.

 From the dramatic expansion of DNA and other
databases to the multiple surveillance
applications of satellite technology and new
powers to read emails and texts, little now
remains obscured from official snooping. Indeed,
the Prime Minister recently boasted that he had
"doubled the capacity" of MI5 in recent years.

Mr Blair has used the threat of international
terrorism or crime to justify every reduction of
civil liberty while pledging the safeguard of
democratic oversight. Now even that oversight is
under attack as the 40-year-old convention that
MPs' communications should not be intercepted is to be torn up.

The history of how the Wilson Doctrine came into
existence helps to explain why senior MPs and
constitutional experts are so concerned at its imminent demise.

In late 1966, in the midst of the Cold War,
Wilson had been forced on to the defensive after
his extraordinary attack on the organisers of a
seamen's strike, among whom was a young John
Prescott. Challenged to justify his claim that
the union was being manipulated by a "tightly
knit group of politically motivated men", Wilson
hinted at intelligence supplied by MI5.

It caused an uproar, and MPs demanded to know
whether their phones were being tapped. On 17
November Wilson appeared in the Commons to give a
statement that has been endorsed by every
subsequent Prime Minister - until now. Wilson
said there "should be no tapping whatsoever" of
MPs' phones and that if it was considered
necessary to change the policy, the Commons would be told.

Wilson said that he understood the "seriousness"
of concerns, "particularly if tapping comes to be
developed in this country on the scale on which
it has developed in other countries". He could
have little conception about the "scale" of
interception technology 40 years on, nor how much
the state could know about the lives of its citizens.

As detailed on this page, the scope for
surveillance is increasing rapidly thanks to
satellites, scanners, CCTV, information sharing
and, shortly, ID cards. The legislative framework
for this spying boom is laid out in the
Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (Ripa)
2000, which was supposed to reconcile new methods
of snooping with human rights.

New watchdogs were created supposedly to ensure
that the security services kept within the rules.
But, ironically, Mr Blair says it is one of the
new regulators who is pressing for the change to
the Wilson Doctrine. In an almost unnoticed
Commons statement last month, the PM said that
Sir Swinton Thomas, the Interception of
Communications Commissioner, had written to him
saying that Ripa's "regulatory framework" had
"possible implications" for the ban on tapping MPs' phones.

Most ministers and officials involved in the
issue believe, however, that it is Mr Blair who
is most keen to sweep away what he believes is a "Cold War anomaly".

The doctrine has come close to being breached on
a number of previous occasions. Two years ago,
for example, it emerged that it clearly does not
extend to Sinn Fein's elected representatives.

Gerry Adams revealed that a listening device had
been planted in a car used by him and other
senior party figures. Eliza Manningham-Buller,
head of MI5, was later reported to have privately
admitted that the security services planted the
bug. However, since Mr Adams refuses to swear an
oath of allegiance to the Queen, he is not
formally an MP - and is therefore considered fair game by the snoopers.

It is incidents like this that lead experts such
as Peter Hennessy, professor of contemporary
history at Queen Mary, University of London, to
believe that the doctrine is scrupulously
observed by the security services at all times.
Nevertheless, he says he finds it "pretty odd"
that the Government is preparing to dismantle it.

Only Mr Blair's sternest critics would suggest
that he is motivated by anything other than a
desire to give to the security services
everything they say they need to tackle terrorism.

The problem, as seen by champions of Parliament
such as Labour MP Andrew Mackinlay, is who is to
watch the watchers. "Governments can never be
trusted on their own not to confuse national
interest with what is in their political interest," he says.

Additional reporting by Glen Kristensen and Sara Newman

Big Brother Blair and the war on terror

CCTV BRITAIN

A fifth of the world's CCTV cameras are in the
UK, and the average person is caught on film 300
times a day. Britain's four million cameras cover
almost every town centre, and the numbers are
growing. Each year, an estimated ?300m is spent
on CCTV. The London bombings demonstrated their
advantages to spectacular effect, but Liberty
wants clearer controls to ensure information is not misused.

PHONE TAPPING

In 1997, there were 1,712 warrants allowing phone
taps. In 2003, there were 4,827, about two and a
half times the total when Labour came to power.
The increase is more stark given that the rules
have changed so warrants are issued against
individuals, not communication providers, such as
BT. Investigators used to need separate warrants.
Now the Home Secretary need sign just one to intercept all communications.

DNA DATABASE

More than 5 per cent of the UK population - about
three million people - are registered on one of
the world's largest DNA data-bases. Anyone
arrested can be sampled and permanently entered
into the National DNA Database. Prosecution is
not a condition for inclusion. About 140,000
people on it have not been charged or cautioned
for an offence. Some 37 per cent of black males
are on the register, and 9 per cent of white men.

SPIES IN THE SKY

Trials have started in Yorkshire of
"tag-and-beacon" road pricing technology. Similar
trials are to be held in London soon, possibly to
replace the system for the congestion charge. But
the real surveillance advance will come with
satellite road pricing. Fitting tracking devices
in cars to replace road tax with variable charges
will also help the security services pinpoint
details of every road journey made in Britain.

ID CARDS

ID cards are scheduled to come into use in 2008,
subject to parliamentary approval. More than 50
pieces of information relating to the holder,
including biometric information (iris patterns,
fingerprints), will be on the cards. The
Government says they will be invaluable in the
fight against terrorism, organised crime and
benefit fraud. Checks against a compulsory
identity register are to be offered to private firms.

SPIES ON THE NET

The Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000
gave police and security services powers to
monitor websites and intercept emails. The
legislation provides for heavy penalties for
failing to surrender passwords or encryption
keys. Internet service providers are responsible
for the installation of remote-controlled black
boxes that relay all data passing through their computers to MI5.

TRAFFIC TAGGING

Details of every car numberplate, including date,
time and location, are to be stored for at least
two years, whether the owner has committed an
offence or not. A control centre, which opens in
April, can process and track 50 million plates a
day. Plans are in place to enable 100 million a
day, with records stored for five years.
Commuters using London's Oystercard are providing
a detailed record of their movements each day.

BODY SCANNERS

A millimetre wave machine, or "body scanner", is
being tested on Heathrow Express commuters at
Paddington. The scanner, a 7m-long steel box,
creates a virtual image of people inside. An
operator views this on a screen and can see any
concealed objects. Critics say, aside from
privacy, the health and safety aspects of such
devices are unknown, because the technology is
similar to that used on mobile phone masts.

CHILD TAGGING

Details on England's 11 million children are to
go on an electronic database along with
information on their families. Teachers, social
workers and others working with children can
access it. Set-up costs are estimated at ?224m,
and annual running costs ?41m. Critics say the
index will capture information on almost every
child, except those most likely to be at risk.
Trials suggest even schools have several addresses for some children.

NHS DATABASE

The NHS is compiling a database of medical
history on all patients. Inclusion is not
compulsory, but patients must actively opt out or
it will be assumed they have opted in. The
records would allow huge improvements in patient
care, but the NHS is under pressure to allow the
security services access to private medical data.
It is believed MI5 has already asked to view the database.

----- End forwarded message -----
--
Eugen* Leitl <a href="http://leitl.org">leitl</a> http://leitl.org
______________________________________________________________
ICBM: 48.07100, 11.36820            http://www.ativel.com
8B29F6BE: 099D 78BA 2FD3 B014 B08A  7779 75B0 2443 8B29 F6BE

[demime 1.01d removed an attachment of type application/pgp-signature which had a name of signature.asc]