As a resident of the Highlands, I have always taken my freedoms for granted.
Freedom to roam, freedom to speak my mind and freedom to use new media without fear of intrusion by the Government of the day.
That has now changed with plans to give the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) real-time access to Skype, instant message and email data.
Strangely some Lib Dems have now published a letter expressing disquiet. I've included the letter, below, and it is clear that the characters who represent the Highlands do not share their concerns.
I can only conclude that the Lib Dems pictured above approve of the excesses of the Tory Government, support the proposals to the hilt and are therefore secret Stalinists.
Until they come out and express concern I will, as a resident of the Highlands, feel nervous that local elected representatives wish to push for the adoption of the tools of a Totalitarian state.
"Liberal Democrats
have a proud history of defending civil liberties, both in opposition and more
recently in a coalition government. We successfully opposed the Labour
government's undermining of data privacy in 2009, and since taking office in
2010 we have turned back the tide of Labour's erosion of these liberties. So far
we have destroyed the ID cards database, halted the indefinite retention of
innocent people's DNA, turned off the ContactPoint database, stopped the mass
fingerprinting of children without permission from their parents, and ended
child detention for immigration purposes.
Just a few months ago at our spring conference in
Gateshead, we reaffirmed our commitment to "undo
the damage done [by] Labour's assault on basic freedoms". We called for
stronger safeguards on existing surveillance measures to
guarantee that the balance of power is firmly in favour of ordinary citizens. We
asserted the Liberal Democrats' long-standing tradition of protecting human
rights, and agreed that it is our "duty … to safeguard basic freedoms against
the encroachment of state power". Liberal Democrats all over the country have
sought to reverse the substantial erosion of individual freedoms, as the
government committed to do in the coalition agreement in 2010.
Following worrying
reports of possible government proposals to collect real-time information on
people's activity online, including from social media sites, we
were pleased to hear the
deputy prime minister making clear his commitment to civil liberties and
protecting privacy, and confirming that the government will publish draft
legislation with sufficient time for consultation and pre-legislative scrutiny.
It is absolutely vital that the public get a chance to see and debate the
details of any proposals to extend state surveillance, not just being presented
with a Home Office fait accompli. It is also essential that the initial plans
include adequate safeguards – which should be stronger than the current weak
controls. Liberal Democrats in government will not follow the last Labour
government by sounding the retreat on the protection of civil liberties in the
United Kingdom. It continues to be essential that our civil liberties are
safeguarded, and that the state is not given the powers to snoop on its citizens
at will."
Julian Huppert MP, Annette Brooke MP, Malcolm Bruce MP, Mike Crockart MP, Andrew George MP, Mike Hancock MP, John Leech MP, Greg Mulholland MP, John Pugh MP, Alan Reid MP, Adrian Sanders MP, Ian Swales MP, David Ward MP, Mark Williams MP, Roger Williams MP
Julian Huppert MP, Annette Brooke MP, Malcolm Bruce MP, Mike Crockart MP, Andrew George MP, Mike Hancock MP, John Leech MP, Greg Mulholland MP, John Pugh MP, Alan Reid MP, Adrian Sanders MP, Ian Swales MP, David Ward MP, Mark Williams MP, Roger Williams MP
Hi Wave,
ReplyDeleteComfort yourself all you want by pretending that your party has achieved "adequate safeguards" in the proposed legislation, but to the rest of us it just looks like you have sold out again.
By entering this coalition you have made the Tories fireproof. Do you really believe that in a minority administration they would have ever have envisaged bringing this nonsense forward? No it would have been batted out of court.
Enjoy the ministerial Mondeos while they last. Nobody in their right minds would ever entrust the Lib/Dem turncoats with their vote again.
Regards,
Hi Wave,
ReplyDeleteI must apologise for the tone of my contribution above. I completely misread your article, taking the "quote" as being your own words i.e. trying to defend the indefensible. On re-reading, I find we are of much the same mind.
Apologies once again.
Regards,
Rab, thanks for commenting...twice lol
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