International

Labour Govt. backs down on 'Big Brother' Bill

By Hasan Suroor

LONDON JUNE 18. Pressure from MPs and civil rights groups has forced the Blair Government to back down on a controversial legislation which would have given it sweeping powers to "spy" on its citizens.

The move will not be abandoned altogether but the Home Office has agreed to take another look at some of the more contentious provisions before bringing it to Parliament. Additional "safeguards" are to be introduced to prevent its misuse but critics said they would not be satisfied until they had read the "fine print".

The government climb down followed threats by the Opposition to block the measure in the House of Lords where the ruling Labour Party does not have enough members to push it through without cross-party support. Having suffered a string of humiliating defeats in the Lords lately, the Government did not want to risk a setback on what it regards as a milestone legislation to curb terrorism. It also feared a revolt by its own MPs in the Commons that would have upset its plans to get it approved without a debate.

Several Labour MPs, including a member of the Home Affairs Committee, Tom Watson, have opposed the legislation in its present form, calling it a "snooper's charter" and an attack on personal freedoms. It seeks to empower nearly a dozen government departments, many of which have nothing to do with national security, to access telephone and internet records of people, down to the websites visited by them.

While the need for a deterrent anti-terror measure is widely acknowledged, the Bill in its present form is being opposed on the ground that it virtually strips individuals of any privacy with almost anybody in the Government being able to access their most private communications. "I have no problem with the police having these powers to crack down on organised crime or terrorism. But the draft order gives the world and his dog the right to snoop on e-mails and phone calls," Mr. Watson said as civil rights activists stepped up their campaign accusing the Home Secretary, David Blunkett, of resorting to "repressive" measures in the name of fighting terrorism.

In the Lords, the Liberal Democrats joined hands with Tories to oppose the move.

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