‘No conspiracy or cover up’ in Diana death
There was “no conspiracy or cover up” in the car accident that killed Princess Diana and Dodi Al-Fayed nine years ago, the official report has concluded. Former Metropolitan police commissioner Lord Stevens said that after a three-year, £3.6 million probe, he believed the Paris crash was simply a “tragic accident”. However, Mohammed Al-Fayed rejected the […]
New terror bill ‘due in new year’
A new counter-terrorism bill will be introduced in the new year, the home secretary has announced, although he warned against “assumptions” about what it may include. The home secretary said he had completed his review of the government’s resources, capability and structure in dealing with the terror threat, and had submitted it to Tony Blair. […]
Reid and Brown ‘playing football with terror’
The Conservative leader has attacked John Reid and Gordon Brown for “tough guy posturing” and called for a cross-party approach on tackling terrorism. David Cameron accused the home secretary and chancellor of using the issue of national security as a “political football” in their fight for the Labour leadership. “There is no shame in seeking […]
Blair reconsiders 90-day detention
The government is considering bringing back proposals to allow the detention of terror suspects for up to 90 days without being charged, Tony Blair has confirmed. Although a bill on terrorism was absent from Queen’s speech, the prime minister said proposals on Britain’s counter-terror strategy would be published by Christmas. And Mr Blair said the […]
UK facing ‘wave’ of terror threats
Britain is facing a “seamless” threat from terrorists and must fight it with a coordinated effort across all government departments, the home secretary has said. John Reid said intelligence suggested there was a “wave” of suspected plots against the UK, most of them directed from abroad and “specifically by elements of al-Qaida”. Security is expected […]
Terror talk ‘exploiting politics of fear’
Tony Blair’s rhetoric on the ‘war on terror’ leaves him open to the charge that he is “exploiting a politics of fear”, a new report has warned. A study for the Joseph Rowntree Reform Trust says ministers must stop using “misleading and disproportionate” language on terrorism, which “allows terrorists to assume the dignity of being […]
Brown and Reid press security credentials
Gordon Brown and John Reid have both used today’s Sunday newspapers to outline their security credentials, prompting further speculation over the future of the Labour leadership. Mr Brown, who has long been tipped as Tony Blair’s successor, stresses in an interview with the Sunday Times that protecting the nation must be a premier’s “first priority”. […]
MI5 monitoring 1,600 radicals
The head of MI5 has said the security service is monitoring 1,600 terror suspects across 200 networks in the UK. In a rare speech, Eliza Manninham-Buller – MI5 director general, said the UK was currently facing around 30 terror plots that security professionals were aware of. Additionally, since the July 7th bombings last year MI5 […]
Hutton hits back at ‘whitewash’ claims
Lord Hutton has today hit back at critics of his report into the death of David Kelly, more than two years after it was dismissed as a “whitewash”. The judge said he understood that critics of the Iraq war had hoped his inquiry would attack the government, but argued such a conclusion would not have […]
Govt accused of undermining torture ban
The government has been accused of “actively trying to undermine” the global ban on torture in its efforts to tackle terrorism. Campaign group Human Rights Watch says efforts to return suspected terrorists to countries where they might be tortured are in direct contradiction with the government’s public opposition to torture. However, the Home Office has […]
