Leaked email reveals how Gordon Brown really wants to handle terrorism

If you’d been following Gordon Brown’s comments about terrorism in the media, you could be forgiven for thinking that he doesn’t want to score party political points on the matter, and in fact wants cross-party consensus.

Just look at what Patrick Wintour wrote in The Guardian, what Sky News reported or what Philip Johnson wrote in The Telegraph.

They all talked about how Gordon Brown wants consensus. Sounds fairly reasonable doesn’t it? All parties pull together for the common good in the face of threats to our security, etc etc.

Only one problem with this picture. It’s that small matter of accuracy.

Because whilst in public Gordon Brown has been saying he wants cross-party consensus, in private he’s been telling Labour Party members that a key part of their general election campaign will be to attack the Liberal Democrats on the issue.

An email was sent from Gordon Brown to Labour Party members, with the subject line – “Labour Party General Election Campaign (Lib Dems – Soft on Crime)”.

It goes on to lay out the attacks Labour should use against the Liberal Democrats. On terrorism the instructions are very straight-forward: attack the Liberal Democrats, as this extract shows:

The Lib Dems have also tried to block Labour’s necessary measures to protect Britain from terrorism. They voted against 90 days’ detention for terror suspects and have said they would get rid of control orders.

Now, saying part of your general election message is to attack the Liberal Democrats over anti-terror laws isn’t exactly seeking cross-party consensus is it?