Terror laws must let the state protect us all

TODAY’S call from terror watchdog David Anderson QC for an overhaul of our surveillance laws represents a boost for ministers. Mr Anderson, the Government’s independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, says in today’s report that “no go areas” for the police and intelligence agencies should be minimised to protect the public from terrorism and serious crime. That means, he says, that bulk collection of citizens’ phone, email, text and other data should continue despite the revelations of US whistleblower Edward Snowden. The call comes during the ongoing row in the US over surveillance laws, following last week’s US Senate deadlock over the extension of the post-9/11 USA Patriot Act.

Mr Anderson’s conclusions are based not only on the terror threat — serious though that is, in a week when there have been new warnings about Islamic State’s possession of chemical and radioactive material and ambitions to build a “dirty bomb”. He also draws attention to police successes against serious and organised crime such as drug smuggling that were made possible through extensive surveillance powers.

He proposes not a major extension of powers, but a new law that would consolidate existing provisions and improve safeguards. Of course the latter are essential: Mr Anderson demands measures including greater judicial scrutiny, a new surveillance watchdog and increased transparency. It is a fine balance between state power and privacy — but in the end such a balance must come down to the state’s ability to protect its citizens.