This last week something little-noticed happened which could have very worrying consequences for the future. All local authorities, NHS trusts, schools, universities, further education colleges, and prisons had a new statutory duty imposed on themto prevent extremist radicalisation taking place within their ambit. These new duties will be vastly intrusive. Local authorities will have to […]
Posts Tagged ‘Surveillance’
The secret state is out of control: our privacy and freedom is threatened
Apr 1st, 2015 by Diane Abbott.In recent days a whistle blower has revealed that I was under surveillance by Special Branch in the nineteen eighties and nineties. I cannot say it comes as a complete surprise. Ever since the beginnings of the Labour movement, the state has made use of spies and informers. The recent revelations have been specifically about […]
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How far did blacklisting extend outside construction?
Mar 2nd, 2015 by Michael Meacher.It was originally assumed that blacklisting was a secret tool used by construction companies – Balfour Beatty, Costain, McAlpine, Skanska, Carillion, Kier and over 30 others – to keep out people they didn’t want. To achieve this the euphemistically named Consulting Association over 16 years (1993-2009) complied a database on thousands of construction workers who […]
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Despite Snowden May won’t take no for any answer over mass surveillance
Oct 8th, 2014 by Michael Meacher.The security services are getting desperate. Over the last 4 years they, and their political figurehead May, have tried time and time again to push mass surveillance through Parliament. Whenever a security scare arises or a trial of alleged terrorists or belated arrests over a drugs scandal, the cry is always foisted on the public that […]
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The roll of honour: opposed to the Indiscriminate Mass Surveillance Bill
Jul 16th, 2014 by Jon Lansman.Sunny Hundal makes the crucial point about this morning on Labour List: “an emergency was concocted. There’s little point in complaining about the rush because that was the whole point.” Ed Miliband’s Labour Party went along with it and Sunny rightly says “Ed Miliband’s civil liberties credentials are now in tatters.” Presumably, the calculation was that […]
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The authoritarian state keeps trampling on liberty
Jun 7th, 2014 by Michael Meacher.A judge has ordered that the criminal trial of two persons accused of terrorism (or rather of ‘preparing for terrorism’) should be held in secret, and that even the existence of this trial should be kept secret on the grounds provided by the crown prosecution that “there was a serious possibility that the trial may […]
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Greens start legal challenge over GCHQ snooping in violation of “Wilson doctrine”
May 6th, 2014 by Newsdesk.Two Green Party parliamentarians are taking legal action against the Government over claims that their communications continue to be intercepted by GCHQ. Caroline Lucas MP and Baroness Jenny Jones have started legal proceedings at the Investigatory Powers Tribunal (IPT), the tribunal which examines complaints about surveillance by the country’s intelligence agencies and other public bodies. Lawyers will argue […]
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Relax – Cameron says spy agencies acting entirely within the law
Apr 11th, 2014 by Michael Meacher.It was the Blairite press officer Jo Moore who in 20o1 on the day of 9/11 coined the infamous phrase: “This is a good day to bury bad news”. Cameron seems to have learnt the lesson when yesterday he used the furore over Maria Miller’s avarice and arrogance to quietly give a welcome to a […]
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Bugging and surveillance – a cause for concern
Feb 22nd, 2014 by Gerry Adams.Bugging devices in all shapes and forms, tracking devices to monitor movement, and remote controlled surveillance cameras were all an integral part of the British government’s war in the north. Over the years they were found in the homes of republican activists, under floor boards and cabinets, attached to wooden beams in attics, and hidden […]
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Who can you trust in Britain today?
Oct 28th, 2013 by Michael Meacher.The latest evidence that GCHQ in their systematic electronic harvesting of information went far beyond what the law allowed, and were acutely well aware of this, is certainly troubling, but perhaps not surprising. The mood and culture in Britain today in the use of power is push your advantage to the limit and beyond – […]
