Internet giants face pressure to help fight extremism
THE TORIES and Labour have clashed after senior Conservatives claimed Jeremy Corbyn would pose a security risk if he enters Number 10 after the General Election.
The direct assault on Mr Corbyn’s record came as further polls suggested Labour was eating into Theresa May’s lead as the June 8 General Election approaches.
The Tories released a video showing the Labour leader boasting about opposing anti-terror legislation and dodging questions over whether he would condemn the IRA.
Home Secretary Amber Rudd suggested victory for Mr Corbyn would “absolutely” increase the risk of future atrocities.
Mr Corbyn said he has been vocal in opposing “executive control orders that are not subject to judicial oversight” as he defended his previous voting record on antiterror measures. Appearing on ITV’s
Mr Corbyn said: “I do support work with the police and our security services on intelligence-led actions.”
On Saturday, Mr Corbyn had made his strongest attempt yet to distance himself from the IRA, saying he was “appalled” by the terror gang’s 1991 mortar attack on Downing Street and stressed the bombing campaign was “completely wrong because it was taking civilian lives”.
On Mr Corbyn insisted he had not “spoken to the IRA” but had met “former prisoners who have told me they were not in the IRA”.
He said “we could give credit to all those – unionists and republicans” who were involved in bringing peace to Northern Ireland.
Mr Corbyn’s ally, shadow home secretary Diane Abbott also tried to distance herself from claims she had supported the IRA in the 1980s, saying: “It was 34 years ago, I had a rather splendid afro at the time.
“I don’t have the same hairstyle, I don’t have the same views.” On the BBC’s
she also insisted her opposition to MI5 had ended since the 1980s: “It has since been reformed and of course I would not call for its abolition now.”
Labour would recruit an additional 1,000 staff to the security and intelligence agencies MI5, MI6 and GCHQ to help in the battle against extremist violence.
Denouncing the Tories’ traditional claim on the mantle of the “party of law and order”, Mr Corbyn said Conservative-led governments had slashed numbers of police, border guards and emergency workers.
He said: “Ensuring the safety of our communities demands properly resourced action across many fronts.
“It means upholding and enforcing our individual rights, promoting community relations, supporting our emergency services, tackling and preventing crime and protecting us from danger, including threats of terror and violence.” Ms Rudd told
“I spend two hours every day signing security warrants. The only thing Corbyn would sign is our security away. He’d be a disaster.” Asked if she was suggesting the prospect of Mr Corbyn in Downing Street meant an increased risk of atrocities, she stressed that she was not linking it to the Manchester bomb, but added: “It absolutely does, yes.” Pressed on the issue on the
she added: “I would say look at the evidence.
“The evidence is that Jeremy Corbyn and Diane Abbott and John McDonnell have all a history of not supporting terrorist legislation.”
In a swipe at Ms Abbott, she added: “I have changed my hairstyle a few times in 34 years as well, but I have not changed my view about how we keep the British public safe.”
Polls in the Sunday newspapers gave Tories leads of between six and 14 points. PRESSURE WILL be heaped on social media giants to do more to tackle online extremism, Security Minister Ben Wallace has said.
Mr Wallace, who helped lead the Government’s response to the Manchester bombings, hit out at tech companies whose data encryption allow terrorist cells to communicate under the radar and condemned firms for selling users’ data to dubious firms.
Ministers would be prepared to get tough with internet firms through measures such as law changes or financial pressures, he told Radio 5Live’s
Asked about the kind of sanctions, he said: “We are open to all the measures.”
Mr Wallace went on: “I think the answer is we will be putting pressure on them.
“I’m not going to sit here and pick off the top of my head whether that would be through financial or legal ways but we think they can do more, they have the money to do more and some companies do do more.
“This is not every single company, some companies are absolutely engaged.”
The intervention comes as both main parties put security at the heart of their election campaigns in response to the deadly Manchester bombing.
Twenty-two people were killed and dozens seriously injured when a bomb was detonated as fans left an Ariana Grande concert on Monday night.
Mr Wallace expressed frustration over encrypted messaging apps in the fight against terror, saying: “The challenge is not that we are not getting information from the streets.
“The challenge is the sheer scale of what we are getting and the growth of it and at the same time when we need to follow up that information, the encryption that is out there and the technology makes it very, very hard to follow it up.”