The Prime Minister has outlined plans to extend powers to deport or exclude foreigners who encourage terrorism. Already we can exclude or deport those who pose a threat to security. However, Blair now wants to clamp down on those who advocated terror and worryingly is prepared to amend human rights laws to make such deportations more straightforward.
Just how far is he prepared to bend to the vagrancies of public opinion and allow the mood to affect legislation grounded in historic contemplation and deliberations?
Charles Kennedy has responded acknowledging that 'there is a worried mood in the country, and rightly so, about the problems and dangers being faced and the terrible events that have taken place.'
However he also warns that 'you can't just legislate by mood. You have also got to legislate introducing means which actually set out what you are trying to achieve.
'If you have an international war on terror, does it make sense simply to re-export a source of potential terror from your own country, rather than dealing with that individual and that issue within your own jurisdiction so that you have some control over it?'
It has also immerged that not all of the Prime Minister's plans were revealed before the cross party consensus was announced in how to tell with the immediate terrorist threat. These proposals which only immerged yesterday appear to be putting a severe strain on that consensus.
Is Blair going to listen? I'll leave you to your own best guess on that.
No comments:
Post a Comment