Labour exploit terror fears to destroy civil liberty, Lib Dems claim

The government is capitalising on a climate of fear over terrorism and crime to force through changes that threaten people’s civil liberties, the Lib Dems leader has warned.

Speaking at the National Liberal Club, Charles Kennedy attacked David Blunkett for "using a post-9/11 fear among the public" to push through measures "antipathetic to civil liberties".

Mr Kennedy acknowledged that extraordinary threats - like those posed by international terrorism - may require authorities to find a "different balance between our hard-won liberties and our security".

"But the correct response to such threats should not be, as the current Home Secretary appears to think, the abandonment of some of the liberties that generations of Britons have relied upon. Hard-won rights, once lost, may never be regained," he cautioned.

He accused the government of "rushing in" measures like detention without trial, derogation from the European Convention on Human Rights and the proposed introduction of ID cards "without first securing widespread public support".

By succumbing to the temptation to use the terrorist threat to justify measures that go far beyond national security, Mr Kennedy accused the Home Secretary of "alienating the communities whose cooperation he needs".

"We should not underestimate the dismay which the Belmarsh detentions and Section 44 have caused in our Muslim communities. They are on the receiving end of this legislation, and feel justly aggrieved that due process is being set aside," he said.

"It is just plain daft to alienate communities that can be of particular help in identifying and exposing terrorists by the injudicious application of police powers."

(gmcg/sp)