Clegg rejects rethink on web data

Nick Clegg has warned against "knee-jerk" reactions to the murder of soldier Lee Rigby as he restated his opposition to plans to retain records of all Britons' online activity. The deputy prime minister said measures in the aborted Communications Data Bill, dubbed the "snooper's charter" by critics, were "disproportionate". The bill was dropped from the Queen's Speech amid Lib Dem opposition. Senior Conservatives say it should be revived to help prote public safety. Former Conservative leader Lord Howard has suggested that the Conservatives and Labour could join forces in Parliament to pass the legislation despite Lib Dem opposition. 'Calm and forensic' The controversial communications legislation would have required internet companies to store records of emails and social media messages for a year and allow police and security agencies to access the data - the who, when, where - although not the content of messages. But speaking on his regular phone-in show on LBC 97.3, Mr Clegg said the existing plans - which were subject to extensive public consultation and parliamentary scrutiny - were flawed. "Very important parts of what was proposed just weren't workable because the industry, the Facebooks, the Googles and all these people upon whose co-operation we rely to go after the bad people, just said it wasn't really workable in its present form," he said. "Other aspects of it have always struck me as perhaps being disproportionate." Conservative politicians say it is too early to say whether the additional powers would have prevented last week's murder in Woolwich but suggest the police have made a compelling case for them. 'Traditions of liberty' Mr Clegg insisted he was not seeking to limit the powers available to the police and security services but said efforts to prevent radicalisation and confront extremism must be approached in a "calm and forensic way". Continue reading the main story “Start Quote It has been known for six years there is a flaw in security services' ability to track this very necessary intelligence” End Quote Alan Johnson Former Labour home secretary "I have never suggested that the very considerable powers that our security services and the police have - far in excess, by the way, of many other forces in other parts of the world - should in any way be rolled back. "Quite the reverse, I'm actually saying in one important respect - matching IP addresses to individual phones and mobile appliances - we should take further action." But he suggested that past governments had made mistakes by reacting to horrific incidents with "sweeping statements" and trying to pass laws which proved not to be workable. "I think the British public want us politicians to strike this very difficult balance of protecting the freedoms, the democracy, the traditions of liberty which these horrific extremists and terrorists want to threaten...but also giving the security services and the police the proportionate, workable tools to keep us safe." 'Intelligence flaw' Former Labour home secretary Alan Johnson told BBC's Question Time - in a programme to be broadcast later on Thursday - that the Bill, in its original form, was too "widely drawn". But he said there was agreement among MPs who had access to intelligence material that the authorities needed to be better equipped to deal with emerging threats. "It has been known for six years there is a flaw in security services' ability to track this very necessary intelligence," he said. "It is not to do with Woolwich. It would still be an issue without Woolwich." Conservative health minister Anna Soubry said talk of her party and Labour "ganging up" on the Lib Dems was far-fetched and all parties needed to "sit down and work out a way to achieve what we want to achieve". The proposals did not amount to surveillance or snooping, she added, but merely extended powers for police to see basic details of phone calls made to web and social media exchanges.

Clegg rejects rethink on web data 2013-06-02T11:57:00-07:00 Rating: 4.5 Diposkan Oleh: Undercover 999