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Liberal Democrats launch attack
on Brown's 'surveillance society'
Colin Brown
London
Independent
Tuesday Aug 21, 2007
Liberal Democrat leaders are to mount an attack on Britain's
"surveillance society'' that threatens to wreck Gordon Brown's
hopes of a cross-party consensus on measures to tackle the threat
of terrorism.
In a strategic break with the Prime Minister, Sir Menzies Campbell,
the Liberal Democrat leader, and his home affairs spokesman Nick
Clegg will launch their offensive at their party conference next
month.
They have decided that Mr Brown's clear support for an extension
of detention without charge beyond 28 days for terrorist suspects
has destroyed any hope of a cross-party deal.
But they claim they are also responding to public anxiety highlighted
by the Government's Information Commissioner, Richard Thomas,
who has warned that Britain is in danger of "sleep-walking
into a surveillance society".
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Liberal Democrat leaders say Britain is one of the most spied-on
nations in the world and will use the conference to launch a campaign
to roll back legislation they claim has gone too far. It includes
the Identity Cards Act 2006, the creation of a national identity
register and proposals for wide ranging data-sharing powers across
Whitehall departments.
Greater safeguards will be demanded on:
* The CCTV cameras that have sprouted up in every town and some
villages, at a ratio of one for every 16 people, making Britain
the most "watched" country on the planet.
* The DNA database, "the largest in the world", which
has data on 140,000 innocent people, with a disproportionate number
from ethnic minorities.
* The Information Commissioner, who has no power to restrict
"data mining" and data processing requests by government
agencies and reports to ministers rather than Parliament.
* Requests for communications traffic data by the police and
other investigative authorities which topped 439,000 between January
2005 and April 2006.
* Intercept warrants, which exceeded 2,240 in the 16 months to
April 2006 under laws making the UK alone among democratic nations
to have warrants granted by ministers.
Doctors' leaders at the BMA have also called on the Government
to halt a scheme for GPs to pass on sensitive information about
their patients to an NHS database until they have more assurances
that they will not breach data protection safeguards.
Mr Clegg said that the prospect of a cross-party consensus on
tougher anti-terror measures was shattered when the Prime Minister
decided on an extension of detention without charge for terrorist
suspects before consultation had begun.
"Gordon Brown has gained considerable political advantage
by striking a new tone on civil liberties, parliamentary accountability
and cross-party cooperation. But our analysis has concluded that
on substance, rather than tone, Brown remains wedded to an unchanged
Blairite agenda,'' said Mr Clegg.
"Brown has short-circuited any objective consideration of
the facts by declaring his determination to extend the period
of detention without charge still further.
"And there has been no meaningful cross-party mechanism
established on counter-terrorism despite all the rhetoric to the
contrary from Brown himself.''
He told The Independent: "In these circumstances we have
decided to make the protection of traditional British liberties
and personal privacy a major line of attack in the autumn and
winter. Britain needs a champion of liberty now more than ever.''
The campaign will also attack the Tory leadership of David Cameron,
saying that his claims to liberalism are unravelling.
Where we are watched
* CCTV
Britain is the world's most watched nation. There are 4.2 million
CCTV cameras, one for every 16 people. Campaigners say they are
"inadequately regulated".
* DNA data
The UK holds 3.6 million samples, the world's biggest database,
including 140,000 innocent people.
* Data Protection
Surveillance on credit cards, mobile phones and loyalty cards,
and US security agencies monitoring telecommunications, require
the Data Protection Act to be updated.
* Schools
Many are collecting pupils' biometric data, often without parental
consent.
* ID Cards
The Identity Cards Act 2006 paved the way for the creation of
a National Identity Register and proposals for sharing data within
government.
* Bugging
From 1 January 2005 to 31 March 2006, there were 439,000 requests
for communications traffic data and 2,243 warrants issued. UK
is alone among democracies in having warrants issued by ministers.
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