Thursday, November 15, 2007

Random Bag Searches For Rail Passengers in Brown's Fortress Britain

The Daily Mail reports:
• Security will be upgraded at 250 train stations

• Anti-terror measures to be implemented at cinemas and shopping centres

• Bollards and concrete blocks to stop car bombers at 'vulnerable' buildings

• New buildings not allowed to have underground car parks
Britons face bag searches and airport-style scanners in railway stations, and the end of the underground car park in Gordon Brown's vision for Fortress Britain.

The Prime Minister yesterday told MPs that "terrorism can hit us anywhere" and the only solution is to strengthen security.

He called for anti-terror measures to be implemented in railway terminals, power stations and ports - and even cinemas and shopping centres.

Security will be upgraded at 250 train stations, with scanners and searches introduced at several of the biggest.

Exclusion zones could also be set up, preventing cars driving up to the entrances.

Mr Brown's comments came as he unveiled the results of two security reviews commissioned in the wake of the failed London and Glasgow car bomb attacks days after he came to power.

He said: "Just as the terrorists use every method and the very freedoms we enjoy to kill or maim people, so we must also adopt new tools to beat the terrorists, secure our borders and create a safe global society."

Protecting the public: Police on patrol at Heathrow

The plans raise the prospect of long and frustrating queues for rail travellers passing through major cities.

But the policy already seems in disarray after the Department of Transport said it did not believe airport scanners would be used.

Instead, officials said they expected to introduce hand-held devices, which are already used in some parts of the country.

There was also speculation that the speech was timed to bolster support for draconian new anti-terror powers.

The terror crackdown comes as the government is set to unveil new plans today to increase the length of time terror suspects can be detained, according to the BBC.
The new proposals would permit detainees to be held for up to maximum 58 days, 30 more days than the current limit of 28.

The new system would allow police to detain suspects for the extra 30 days, which they can already do under existing emergency powers, but without having to declare a state of emergency.

Mr Brown used the Queen's Speech last week to signal the Government would try to extend the existing 28-day limit for the detention of terror suspects.

He faces stiff opposition from the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats. Questions were also asked about the other major plank of his terror strategy - tightening up security at public venues such as shopping centres.

After a review by Security Minister Lord West, Mr Brown said that anti-terror measures would be increased at vulnerable buildings where large numbers of people gather.

The increased security is likely to include bollards and concrete blocks to stop car bombers, as well as new window designs to protect the public from splinters of glass.

New buildings will not be allowed to have underground car parks, which are vulnerable to explosive attacks.

But Mr Brown's official spokesman later admitted the Government would not fund the changes unless the buildings were publicly owned.

This cast huge doubts over whether the work would actually take place - and if it did, whether customers would foot the bill.

The shadow Home Secretary, David Davis, said: "The measures which Gordon Brown announced were long overdue but commonsense.

"However, we should know how these are to be paid for.

"The Government has a long track record of failing to deliver on pledges. Action against terror should not be an issue where the Prime Minister hides things in the fine print."

The new measures also include sending updated security advice to thousands of cinemas, theatres, restaurants hotels and sports stadiums.

Some 160 counter-terrorism advisers will train civilian staff to identify suspicious activity and ensure premises have adequate emergency facilities.

Architects will be encouraged to "design in" protective measures on new buildings, and greater protection will be given to power stations, which are attractive targets for Al Qaeda.

The forthcoming Counter Terrorism Bill will include tougher sentences for terrorists, new powers of post-sentence monitoring and additional measures to tackle those who fund them.

A senior judge would be appointed to manage all terrorism cases, while a single lead prosecutor would be appointed.

Mr Brown said: "Terrorism can hit us anywhere, from any place.

"It is a battle we will have to fight street by street, community by community and year by year."

The Prime Minister's urgent tone is likely to be seen as a "softening-up exercise" for the forthcoming battle over extending the 28-day detention limit for terror suspects to 56 days.

He will also be hoping to sway Parliament and the public over the introduction of unpopular policies such as ID cards.

Mr Brown again appeared to link immigration with terrorism, promising more agreementsto deport religious fanaticsas well as repeating a pledge to deport 4,000 overseas criminals each year.

The security budget, which is £2.5billion this year, will rise to £3.5billion in 2011, he said.

The size of the security service will also be increased - from 2,000 staff in 2001 to more than 4,000 within five years.

Mr Brown also said that a review of the use of intercept evidence in court cases - which is currently banned - would report back in January.

David Cameron said that despite being in agreement with parts of Mr Brown's proposals, he would like the Government to have gone further.

The Tory leader called for extremist groups to be banned and demanded that all Muslim preachers coming to Britain should be able to speak English.

He said: "Will the Government recognise that it has got to ban the extremist groups like Hizb ut-Tahrir, like Hezbollah, that do so much to foment violence?"

The Prime Minister said there were no plans to do so, but the matter was "under review".

How is it that we're so frightened and so eager to give up our privacy and Constitutional protections, for absolutely no reason. Nothing that's being done would have prevented 9/11/01 from happening.

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