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September 23, 2004
Justice
In some perverse way you've got to admire David Blunkett. Faced with all the outcry over the indefinite detention without trial for foreign nationals accused of supporting terrorist groups, a less Home Secretary might back down. But not our David. Instead he decides that the law needs changing to a) allow make covertly obtained intelligence admissable in court and b) introduce a crime of acts preparatory to terrorism.To some extent I can agree with the admissability of covert intelligence. It would at least give the accused a chance to effectively confront and challenge the evidence being used to hold them.
But the crime of commiting an act, or acts, preparatory to terrorism scares me. According to Blunkett, such a change in the law would allow us to get into at a much earlier state what the networks do in supporting terrorism across the world, for example the raising of funds and the ability to organise cells. It is a very short step from that sort of charge to the concept of thought crime; that the mere act of thinking about, or discussing with friends, the mechanics of terrorism could be considered to be preparatory to terrorism. Welcome to the brave new world of Ingsoc, New Labour-style.
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Posted by Clive on September 23, 2004 1:23 PM in the category Old Stuff