Turns out the head of MI5 is rather a liberal
At first, it may seem unsurprising that the head of MI5, Director General Jonathan Evans, has vehemently defended the actions of his organisation. That he has taken to writing a column in a national newspaper is unusual, but terms in which he has defended MI5 are of the greatest long-term significance.
That is because he has firmly put MI5 in public on the (small l) liberal side of the debate over how to deal with terrorism:
It’s common to hear some on the right or in New Labour claim that we must abandon the law and place to one side morality when tackling terrorism. It’s a different world where old standards no longer apply, don’t you know? The extremism and counter-productive nature of such views is shown up by even the head of MI5 saying that such attitudes give “a propaganda weapon to our opponents”.Both the Government and the Opposition in the House of Commons on Wednesday underlined how important it is that Britain lives up to its legal and moral responsibilities in countering terrorism. If we fail to do so, we are giving a propaganda weapon to our opponents. I fully agree with that judgement.
He went on to say of terrorists and extremists:
Their freedom to voice extremist views is part of the price we pay for living in a democracy, and it is a price worth paying because in the long term, our democracy underpins our security.
Quite.
Head of MI5 is a liberal? Nice quote at end. https://www.markpack.org.uk/jonathan-evans/ #MI5 #Terrorism #Democracy
Head of MI5 is a liberal? Nice quote at end. https://www.markpack.org.uk/jonathan-evans/ #MI5 #Terrorism #Democracy
This, coupled with several court cases being rightfully won recently (too many too name names) – I am slowly regaining some faith in the UK. The fact that the head of a major security organisation recognises the fact that our freedom outweighs the need to violate privacies, and en-power ‘the man’ to force us into a corner based on non-existent threats is unbelievable.
How often is child pornography cited as a reason for violating more privacies, how often is terrorism thrown as a buzz word to make excuses for unfair powers. A huge thumbs up and a basket of fruit to you Jonathan. (I don’t actually have any fruit, sorry)