Published: Thursday, 24th July, 2008 09:00
Tories blast communications bill
By Adam Hewitt
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Reading East MP Rob Wilson
TORIES in Reading have come out fighting for civil liberties after the one-man crusade by their former Shadow Home Secretary, David Davis.
When Mr Davis resigned from Parliament to fight his successful by-election on liberties and surveillance, Labour politicians in Reading questioned the Tories’ commitment to tackling crime.
Reading West MP Martin Salter called the by-election a “ridiculous spectacle”, adding: “It looks as if the Conservatives have lost the plot on law, order and security. They want to cut back on CCTV cameras and the use of DNA evidence which has proved so important in securing convictions against criminals and those who would do us harm.”
He wrote to his Tory challenger, Alok Sharma, while Reading East Labour candidate Anneliese Dodds wrote to her future opponent, Conservative MP Rob Wilson.
She wrote: “I’m on the side of the decent, law-abiding majority who play by the rules and want their community to be safe. They want the police and the authorities to come down hard on law breakers. CCTV and the DNA database put criminals where they belong – in jail.”
Mr Wilson and Mr Sharma responded on Tuesday, criticising the DNA database for recording details of tens of thousands of innocent people but not all dangerous criminals. They also derided Labour for losing sensitive personal data, its early-release scheme for prisoners near the end of their sentences, for police red-tape, and for letting off knife criminals with “a slap on the wrist”.
They also blasted the Communications Data Bill, asking: “How many people in this country know that all their phone calls and emails are going to be monitored and kept on an enormous Government database?”
They concluded: “Your Government is absorbing powers that it is not entitled to have and is undercutting many of our freedoms that were established over centuries.”
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