The UK Home Secretary wants to introduce new powers to allow the police to intercept texts, phone messages and emails in order to keep ahead of people wanting to kill innocent citizens. She is a Tory. Her Lib Dem partners in the Coalition oppose this move on the grounds that it is an unjustified surrender of privacy in a democracy and to let it go through would be a victory for the terrorists.
The Lib Dems have the moral high ground but on the wrong hill. Viewed from an armchair or a debating chamber the notion of individual liberty free from state snooping is a non-negotiable foundation of a free society. Faced with a direct threat to those they love, wives, children, parents, partners, which can only be relived by surrendering a part of that freedom, most civilised people would give it up gladly. This is why this non-partisan blog says with conviction that in this case the Lib Dems are wrong and the Tories are right.
In WWII there were huge restrictions on personal freedom. Everybody carried identity cards and there was censorship of mail. I found an old letter written to my parents from a friend, a woman whose son was serving in the army, with part of the letter cut out with a razor. Clearly the lady had said something she should not have. There was also an Orwellian sounding Ministry of Information.
We can debate at length whose fault it is young people have become radicalised, but the fact is they have and they do terrible things. Until we have worked out a way to de-radicalize them and eliminate the threat, we have to do whatever it takes to guard against it. If that means that the authorities have to snoop on all of us, we must pay the price until the threat is removed. And if you are Lib Dem and don’t like that, too bad. If you cannot cope, get rid of your PC, smart phone and tablet and live in the past. The rest of us want to be sure our loved ones go on living safely in the now.