May calls for return of snooper’s charter
She warns internet is ‘a paradise’ for terrorists
THE security services need new surveillance powers to counter the ‘real and deadly’ threat from jihadists, Theresa May warned last night in a fresh call for a so-called ‘snooper’s charter’. The Home Secretary said the conflicts in Syria and Iraq had created a haven for terrorists just a few hours from London by plane.
At t he s ame t i me, t he internet has become a ‘ paradise’ for terrorists and criminals who can operate out of the reach of the authorities.
Mrs May warned that Britain faced threats from Islamist groups around the world, hostile nations, cyber hacking and international organised crime.
In a speech in London, she revealed she had approved interception operations to fight the spread of nuclear, chemical and biological technology.
But she added that the powers used to defeat Britain’s enemies were not keeping up with new technology, leading to a collapse in Britain’s capacity to protect its citizens.
This ‘loss of capability’ is the ‘great danger we face’ Mrs May said. ‘ We no longer have the capabilities upon which we have always relied.’
Mrs May’s call last year for a law to allow the collection of vast amounts of information about emails, phone calls and internet activities was blocked by Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg. But her speech yesterday will be seen by critics as an attempt to resurrect her ‘snooper’s charter’.
She dismissed accusations that the Government was engaged in mass surveillance, as claimed by supporters of rogue US spy Edward Snowden. In fact, far from having a ‘fictitious mastery’ of the technology, Britain faced the ‘significant risk of being caught
‘A haven for criminality’
out by it’. She added: ‘The real problem is not that we have built an over-mighty state but that the state is finding it harder to fulfil its most basic duty – to protect the public.
‘The terrorist threats to this country and our interests are changing faster than at any time since 9/11.
‘We continue to face possible attacks by Al Qaeda in Pakistan and Afghanistan. But we face further threats from Syria and now from Iraq where Al Qaeda, ISIL and others have created a haven with substantial resources, including advanced technology and weapons. They are on the doorstep of Europe, just a few hours flying time from London, and they want to attack us – not just in Syria or Iraq but here in Britain.’
Some of the Britons who went to fight in the Middle East would pose a ‘real danger’ when they returned, she said, revealing for the first time that a few of the estimated 400 British citizens who had travelled to join the jihadists were women.
She added: ‘ The world is a dangerous place and the United Kingdom needs the capabilities to defend its interests and protect its citizens.
‘We are in danger of making the internet an ungoverned, ungovernable space, a haven for terrorism and criminality.’
Britain i s at greater risk because its ‘secret capabilities’ were exposed by Snowden, she said, and the public was in danger of being misled about state surveillance as a result of claims made from documents he stole and published. She added: ‘There is no programme of mass surveillance and there is no surveillance state.’