42 Day Detention Limit

[Uncle Mort]

The 42 day detention limit looking increasing likely to get voted in next week giving the government yet more control over us. Despite assurances that this will only be used in “exceptional circumstances” I have no doubt that eventually it will become the norm.

They keep saying there is a massive terrorist threat to this country.

Speaking on Monday, Mr Brown re-emphasised his arguments in favour of extending the time limit.

He said the "scale and complexity" of the terrorist threat facing Britain provided compelling evidence of the need to increase the amount of time suspects could be held without charge.

Mr Clarke (Former Assistant Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police) wrote that "the terrorist threat is growing in scale and complexity" and rejected claims that an extension would be a threat to civil liberties

Security services are pursuing about 2,000 terrorists, 30 potential plots and 200 networks

Let us see some of this "compelling evidence".

All the recent "terrorist" cases coming to court seem to me to be very amateurish with very little chance of succeeding. If the threat were as large as we are told I'd imagine there would be explosions every other week.

I wouldn't say the government is lying to us but they are certainly exaggerating somewhat.

[Darwins Selection]

The 42 day detention limit looking increasing likely to get voted in next week giving the government yet more control over us. Despite assurances that this will only be used in “exceptional circumstances” I have no doubt that eventually it will become the norm.

They keep saying there is a massive terrorist threat to this country.

Speaking on Monday, Mr Brown re-emphasised his arguments in favour of extending the time limit.

He said the "scale and complexity" of the terrorist threat facing Britain provided compelling evidence of the need to increase the amount of time suspects could be held without charge.

Mr Clarke (Former Assistant Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police) wrote that "the terrorist threat is growing in scale and complexity" and rejected claims that an extension would be a threat to civil liberties

Security services are pursuing about 2,000 terrorists, 30 potential plots and 200 networks

Let us see some of this "compelling evidence".

All the recent "terrorist" cases coming to court seem to me to be very amateurish with very little chance of succeeding. If the threat were as large as we are told I'd imagine there would be explosions every other week.

I wouldn't say the government is lying to us but they are certainly exaggerating somewhat.

A frightened population is a compliant population. .

[Uncle Mort]

I'm tired of being told that there is a huge terrorist threat. Steve Richards in the Independent this morning wrote the same thing:

No doubt it must be genuinely intimidating for a new Prime Minister to contemplate the threat posed by terrorism, the responsibility of acting and the need to be seen to have done all that was possible if another attack occurs. Anyone who has seen the intelligence is daunted by it.

So he says, so the government has said. Wasn't something similar said about Iraq?

[Nick]

A frightened population is a compliant population.

Theoretically. Question is: Is the population frightened? They may be trying to frighten us, but who, apart from Mail readers, believes them?

Does fear make us compliant with the wishes of this wretched Government? Not sure of the answer to that for the populace in general, but not in my case. They are lying bastards.

[Grumpmeister]

They keep saying there is a massive terrorist threat to this country.

Unfortunately Mort there is, it is called the Government. Nobody else has done as much damage and caused as much fear in the UK recently as this lot have.

[Barman]

I fail to see what Gordo gains by pushing this through – he has obviously made concessions to get his backbenchers on-side. Yet the great unwashed probably care more about the exploits of Max Mosley so perhaps he has little to lose.

Come the next election, any dissenters can just disappear… 

[Snoopy]

Gordo is caught in a myth of his own making ~ that he, unfortunately, believes.

[Uncle Mort]

I see that nice Mr. Major agrees with me:

"The justification of these has sometimes come close to scaremongering."

[Snoopy]

As if there is not enough bad news around they are now making their own.