Music industry chiefs are said to be fuming over British Government’s plan to ban sexy pop videos featuring stars like Beyoncé, Britney Spears, Kylie Minogue, Shakira, Sugababes and The Saturdays.
They fear the move could wreck sales of CDs and downloads as well as wipe out a string of TV music channels such as MTV and [...]
Posts Tagged ‘Alan Johnson’
Sexy pop videos ‘too hot’ for kids, believes Brit government
February 27th, 2010 |
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Britain hikes terror threat to ‘severe’
January 23rd, 2010 |
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Britain raised its terror threat assessment Friday from “substantial” to “severe”, the second-highest level, suggesting an attack on the country is “highly likely”, Home Secretary Alan Johnson said. The change was announced just weeks after a failed plane bombing in the United States, and
British Hacker McKinnon Could Face Extradition Within Weeks
November 27th, 2009 |
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Gary McKinnon, who is accused of hacking U.S. military and NASA computers, experienced another setback in his bid to block extradition to the United States. The British Home Secretary has decided not to get involved in McKinnon’s case, meaning the hacker could be extradited in the coming weeks.
– The British home secretary
has refused to block Gary McKinnons extradition to the United States to face charges of hacking into U.S. military computers.
According to reports, Home
Secretary Alan Johnson decided new medical evidence was not sufficient cause
for him to block McKinnons extradition….
Hacker’s fan club
August 4th, 2009 |
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By Caroline McClatchey
BBC News
British computer hacker Gary McKinnon’s fight against extradition to the US has drawn support from a large and diverse range of influential people. How did his case become such a cause celebre
It has to be one of the most unlikely partnerships in the history of popular music – one is a toned and tanned young boy band singer, the other a brooding and balding lead guitarist from one of the rock giants of the 1970s.
But it’s not music that has brought Boyzone’s Keith Duffy and Pink Floyd’s David Gilmour together – it’s the case of computer hacker Gary McKinnon.
Mr McKinnon has become Britain’s best-known conspiracy theorist, or, as London Mayor Boris Johnson put it – he’s a "classic British nut job" who believes in "little green men".
The American authorities see it differently. The 43-year-old is a wanted man in the US, where he has been accused of "the biggest military computer hack of all time". For the past five years he has been fighting an extradition request from the American authorities which want to try him on US soil.
If convicted there he faces up to 60 years in prison.
Along the way he has amassed a legion of supporters, as diverse in their make up as they are distinguished in their own fields of achievement. They include novelist Nick Hornby, film critic Barry Norman, Emma Noble, the ex-glamour model and former daughter-in-law of John Major, Sting, his film producer wife Trudie Styler and actress Julie Christie.
Politicians of all hues have also leapt on Mr McKinnon’s case. And pop stars Chrissie Hynde and Sir Bob Geldof have teamed up with Gilmour to record a song of support.
In the past six weeks his cause has been further bolstered by a high-profile campaign in the Daily Mail newspaper.
But how did Mr McKinnon’s fight become such a rallying cause for this disparate group of supporters
Mr McKinnon does not deny he hacked into Pentagon systems, but claims he was searching for evidence of a UFO cover-up. His story started back in 2002 and the media have, periodically, followed the twists and turns of his legal battles (see graph, below).
There was also a spike in coverage when he was diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome – a form of autism – last year, but the campaign to stop his extradition has gathered pace, passion and people in the last six months.
While a PR agency has taken on much of the co-ordination, Mr McKinnon’s campaign has won support for a variety of reasons.
Author Nick Hornby and Keith Duffy are thought to have taken an interest because they have children with autism. For others, it raises serious questions about freedom and rights.
Question of justice
Former Beirut hostage Terry Waite learned of the campaign from friends.
"[Mr McKinnon's] a young man who’s vulnerable, who may well have breached the law but in this case, the law has to be exercised with common sense and compassion."
"Bell Yard will continue to draw attention to the absurdities of the Extradition Act 2003 [believing] the UK should not be subcontracting its criminal justice system to foreign jurisdictions for reasons of convenience or political expediency"
McKinnon’s PR agency Bell Page
Profile: Gary McKinnonHe is one of many supporters concerned about what he called the "inadequate and unfair" extradition treaty between the UK and the US.
As it stands, the UK requires the US to show only "reasonable suspicion" to secure the extradition of a British citizen. But the US asks for "probable cause" from the UK.
Mark Kelly, keyboard player with British rock group Marillion, became interested in the story a couple of years ago. He shares, with Mr McKinnon, a love of computers.
"It was one of those stories that caught my eye. I have always had a fascination with computers and I can see how he got caught up in looking for evidence of UFOs and with his Asperger’s, it probably became a bit of an obsession."
But when Kelly put a petition on the band’s website it irritated many American fans – an indication of how opinion about the case is divided.
While most of the celebrities seem to have come on board of their own accords, author Jilly Cooper admits to the BBC she supports the case "in principle" but knows little about it. She says she was contacted by a newspaper "early in the morning".
‘Soap opera’
There is no doubt the Mr McKinnon camp received a major boost when the Daily Mail made the campaign its own about six weeks ago.
The paper declared the case was an "affront to British justice" and "in the name of both sanity and compassion" urged Home Secretary Alan Johnson to "think again". Since then it has included updates almost every day..
Public relations consultant Mark Borkowski believes the Mail’s backing has been crucial, calling it the "oxygen" the campaign needed. And the timing was right, as the "modern day soap opera" reaches its finale.
"It changed from the geek in his bedroom to the great American military machine trying to remove this person from the bosom of his mother."
And while the story appeals to mothers in Middle England, the Mail’s readership base, it also reaches out to the future online audience, he says. But for Max Clifford, a fellow PR expert, the paper’s motivation has been chiefly political, another "stick for the Daily Mail to beat the government".
And it’s no surprise to discover there is some PR professionalism at the heart of the campaign. London-based PR agency Bell Yard is working "pro bono" (free) for the McKinnon campaign. It has experience in this field, having represented the "NatWest 3" – three British bankers who were eventually extradited to the US on fraud related charged. The agency was unavailable for comment for this story.
In the know
Mr McKinnon’s mother, Janis Sharp, is also a key player in the campaign. She says her son’s case is another example of how the government is failing to protect its own. A musician and author, Ms Sharp is so well versed in the extradition laws she sounds like a lawyer
She has been plugging away for years – never turning down an interview, responding to all e-mails and now tweeting about her son’s dilemma on Twitter. And she hasn’t passed up on the benefits of old style networking – which helps explain how the pop star support got rolling.
Ms Sharp is friends with David Gilmour’s brother-in-law. She re-wrote the lyrics of folk classic Chicago, which Gilmour, Sir Bob Geldof and Chrissie Hynde put their voices to – it was the campaign’s first plea to US President Barack Obama.
Gilmour then spread the world to Sting and Styler.
Ms Sharp said the couple have been a huge support and she is constantly amazed by what people have done for the family.
"I am really shy and find it incredibly hard to deal with the media attention but I have to make sure Gary stays here.
"So many good things have happened but the worry is always there."
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Assurances on hacker’s welfare
August 2nd, 2009 |
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The government has promised to help ensure the welfare of a computer hacker with a form of autism who faces extradition to the US to stand trial.
Gary McKinnon, 43, who has Asperger’s Syndrome, is accused of the biggest ever military computer hack in 2001/02.
Labour’s deputy leader Harriet Harman told the BBC it would be illegal to intervene over his extradition.
But the government would push for him to serve any prison sentence in the UK if he was convicted, she said.
‘Very difficult’
Ms Harman said: "There certainly have been assurances sought and given that if, and when, the extradition takes place… his health needs will be attended to."
Mr McKinnon, from north London, and his supporters have argued he should not be extradited because of his disorder – a form of autism. He maintains he was only ever seeking UFO evidence.
Home Secretary Alan Johnson has said he would be breaking the law if he blocked hacker Gary McKinnon’s extradition.
Mr Johnson’s predecessor Jacqui Smith formally gave the go ahead for Mr McKinnon’s extradition in October 2008.
He said after a court rules there is enough evidence, a home secretary can prevent an extradition only in very specific circumstances, none of which applied in Mr McKinnon’s case.
In his article, the home secretary acknowledged it was "understandable" that many would be sympathetic to "someone who appears to be a misguided, vulnerable young man".
But Mr Johnson added "the crimes he is accused of are far from trivial" and said Mr McKinnon "should be tried fairly for them in a court of law and in the country where the impact of those crimes were felt".
"The crimes he is accused of are far from trivial"
Alan Johnson
Home Secretary
The home secretary also denied extradition law was wrong, arguing it was appropriate for "an age where crime is increasingly indifferent to national borders".
Glasgow-born Mr McKinnon could face 60 years or more in prison if convicted in the US.
He admits hacking by accessing 97 government computers belonging to organisations such as the US Navy and Nasa, but denies it was malicious. He also denies the allegation he caused damage costing $800,000 (£487,000).
Mr McKinnon has always insisted he was looking for classified documents on UFOs, which he believed the US authorities had suppressed.
He has challenged refusals by the home secretary and the director of public prosecutions (DPP) to try him in the UK.
US-UK EXTRADITION TREATY- 2003 treaty, agreed in aftermath of 9/11 attacks
- Offence must be punishable by one year or more in jail in both countries
- US has to prove "reasonable suspicion" for extradition of a British citizen
- To extradite an American from the US, British must prove "probable cause"
- Since 2004, 46 people have been sent from the UK to the US for trial, and 27 from the US to the UK
But the DPP refused to order a UK trial, saying the bulk of the evidence was located in the US and Mr McKinnon’s actions were directed against the US military infrastructure.She also said it was not the place of ministers to intervene in the justice system.
And two judges rejected his court bid to avoid extradition, ruling that it was "a lawful and proportionate response" to his offence, even though they conceded he might find extradition and prison in the US "very difficult indeed".
Mr McKinnon has already appealed unsuccessfully to the House of Lords and the European Court of Human Rights.
But the case has led to a political row, with Tory leader David Cameron saying it raised "serious questions" about the extradition pact between the US and UK.
Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman Chris Huhne has argued the American government would not "hang one of their citizens out to dry in the same way".
A letter has been sent to US President Obama signed by 40 British MPs asking him to step in and "bring this shameful episode to an end".
Mr McKinnon’s mother, Janis Sharp, has also called on the president to intervene.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
MI5 ‘recruited al-Qaida sympathisers’
August 1st, 2009 |
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Senior Tory says six men were thrown out of security service amid ‘serious concerns’ and demands investigation
A senior Tory MP today called for an investigation into whether MI5 mistakenly recruited al-Qaida sympathisers.
Patrick Mercer, the chairman of the counter-terrorism subcommittee, said six Muslim recruits had been thrown out of the service because of serious concerns over their pasts.
The MP said he was writing to the home secretary, Alan Johnson, to call for an investigation into the matter.
Two of the six men allegedly attended al-Qaida training camps in Pakistan while the others had unexplained gaps of up to three months in their CVs.
Mercer told the Telegraph that the September 11 2001 terror attacks on the US should have prompted the British government to expand the security services, but this did not happen until the bombings on London’s transport network on 7 July 2005.
“It took an attack on this country for such measures to be started,” he said.
“But at this point it was an unseemly rush of which our enemies, not unsurprisingly, took advantage.”
Mercer added that he was concerned al-Qaida sympathisers who may have infiltrated the security services had not all yet been rooted out.
He said the two recruits who had allegedly been to training camps were not dismissed until after they had been given several weeks of training at MI5, but the others were identified before they started training.
A Home Office spokesman later said: “MI5 takes vetting very seriously indeed. All candidates are required to undergo the most comprehensive process of security vetting in the UK.
“Applicants go through extensive vetting and it is not unusual for a number to drop out or fail at the earliest stages for a variety of reasons.”
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Hacker mother appeals to Obama
July 31st, 2009 |
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The mother of a British computer hacker facing extradition to the US has appealed to President Barack Obama to intervene in the affair.
Janis Sharp spoke after her son, Gary McKinnon, who has Asperger’s Syndrome, lost a court bid to avoid extradition.
The US wants to try him for what it calls the biggest military computer hack ever, in 2001 and 2002, but he says he was seeking evidence on UFOs.
Ms Sharp said: "Please hear us, Obama. I know you would do the right thing."
A letter has been sent to the US president signed by 40 British MPs asking him to step in and "bring this shameful episode to an end".
Speaking outside the court Ms Sharp said President Obama should help those campaigning on her 43-year-old son’s behalf make the world "a more compassionate place".
"Obama wouldn’t have this. He doesn’t want the first guy extradited for computer misuse to be a guy with Asperger’s [Syndrome], a UFO guy.
"My predecessor has already sought and received clear assurances from the US that Mr McKinnon’s health and welfare needs would be met, should he be extradited"
Alan Johnson, Home Secretary
Reaction to decision Gary McKinnon profile"I’m just praying, please hear us, Obama, because I know you would do the right thing," she added.
Mr McKinnon admits hacking by accessing 97 government computers belonging to organisations such as the US Navy and Nasa, but denies it was malicious. He also denies the allegation he caused damage costing $800,000 (£487,000).
Whether or not he can appeal to the new UK Supreme Court – due to launch in October – will be decided later, Lord Justice Burnton said.
Glasgow-born Mr McKinnon had challenged refusals by the home secretary and the director of public prosecutions (DPP) to try him in the UK.
The home secretary insists he has no power to demand the trial take place in the UK.
The DPP refused to order a UK trial, saying the bulk of the evidence was located in the US and Mr McKinnon’s actions were directed against the US military infrastructure.
The court was also asked to rule on whether his Asperger’s Syndrome – a form of autism – meant he could not be extradited to the US.
Mr McKinnon’s lawyers argued extradition was "unnecessary, avoidable and disproportionate" and had not taken place in other cases.
Home Secretary Alan Johnson said: "Mr McKinnon is accused of serious crimes and the US has a lawful right to seek his extradition, as we do when we wish to prosecute people who break our laws.
"The court judgement has also made absolutely clear that the DPP’s decision not to prosecute in the UK was the right one.
"My predecessor has already sought and received clear assurances from the US that Mr McKinnon’s health and welfare needs would be met, should he be extradited."
Mr McKinnon faces up to 70 years in prison if convicted in the US.
He has always insisted he was looking for classified documents on UFOs which he believed the US authorities had suppressed.
Ms Sharp said her son – who did not attend court on Friday – had been "naive enough to admit to computer misuse without having a lawyer and without one being present".
US-UK EXTRADITION TREATY- 2003 treaty, agreed in aftermath of 9/11 attacks
- Offence must be punishable by one year or more in jail in both countries
- US has to prove "reasonable suspicion" for extradition of a British citizen
- To extradite an American from the US, British must prove "probable cause"
- Since 2004, 56 people have been sent from the UK to the US for trial, and 26 for US to UK
- US courts have granted about 70% of UK extradition requests, while nearly 90% of US requests have been granted
She said she was "heartbroken" and feared for his health.
"He’s very ill, he’s got really bad chest pains, it’s affected him emotionally, mentally, every way, he’s terrified," she said.
In a statement, his lawyer Karen Todner, asked: "What does it take to make this government sit up and listen to the clear public view that Gary McKinnon should not be extradited
"The extradition treaty with America was brought in to facilitate the extradition of terrorists and it must be clear to anyone following this case that [he] is no terrorist."
She added that he was "clearly not equipped" to deal with the American penal system.
In February the Crown Prosecution Service refused to bring charges against Mr McKinnon in the UK, following a ruling by former Home Secretary Jacqui Smith to allow his extradition.
Mr McKinnon has already appealed unsuccessfully to the House of Lords and the European Court of Human Rights and his latest judicial reviews in the High Court are likely to be his last chance.
His lawyers say the authorities have not given proper consideration to his Asperger’s Syndrome, which could have "disastrous consequences" – including suicide – if he was to be extradited.
Asperger’s Syndrome sufferers commonly become obsessed with certain activities and interests and have a level of social naivety when it comes to evaluating the consequences of their actions. </p
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Hacker’s ‘moral crusade’ over UFO
July 28th, 2009 |
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A Briton fighting extradition to the US for hacking into top-secret computers claims he was morally justified in breaking the law.
Gary McKinnon, 43, from Wood Green, north London, admits hacking into 97 US government computers, including Nasa’s and Pentagon’s, during 2001 and 2002.
He told the BBC he was on a "moral crusade" to prove US intelligence had found an alien craft run on clean fuel.
Results of judicial reviews into Mr McKinnon’s case are due on Friday.
They focus on whether Mr McKinnon should have been allowed to face trial in the UK and whether the decision to extradite him should have been reconsidered in light of his diagnosis as having Asperger’s Syndrome last year.
His lawyers say he is "eccentric" rather than malicious and that he should be tried on lesser charges in the UK to protect his mental health.
"It is actually a completely unbalanced extradition treaty"
Gary McKinnon
Mr McKinnon is accused of hacking into the computers with the intention of intimidating the US government.
His legal team fear he could be treated as a terrorist and face up to 70 years in jail.
The US government says his actions caused damage costing $800,000 (£500,000) at a time of heightened security in the wake of the 11 September 2001 attacks.
Mr McKinnon told BBC Radio 5 live’s Victoria Derbyshire show: "I’m not blind to criminality but I was on a moral crusade at the time.
"There was good evidence to show that certain secretive parts of the American government intelligence agencies did have access to crashed extra terrestrial technology which could… save us as a form of free, clean, pollution-free energy.
"I thought if someone was holding on to that, that was actually unconstitutional under American law."
‘Two-way street’
Mr McKinnon also criticised arrangements between the two countries that meant the US only had to prove "reasonable suspicion" to force extradition of a British citizen.
To extradite an American from the US, the British must prove "probable cause".
"It is actually a completely unbalanced extradition treaty. It should be a two-way street," said Mr McKinnon.
Earlier this month, the Conservatives failed in a bid to force a review of the law when their Commons motion was defeated by 54 votes.
Home Secretary Alan Johnson told them the 2003 treaty had simplified extradition procedures while safeguarding defendants’ rights.
The burden of evidence required on each side is "essentially" the same, he added.</p
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Labour plans election day voting poll
July 25th, 2009 |
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Plans to hold a referendum on changes to the voting system on the day of the next general election are being considered in Downing Street as part of a ploy to expose David Cameron as a roadblock to sweeping constitutional reform.
The idea, backed by senior ministers, has come to light amid growing recriminations within the Labour party over poor campaign strategy and a lack of fresh ideas for attacking Cameron, following Labour’s thumping loss in Thursday’s Norwich North byelection.
Last night, after the Conservatives overturned a 5,000 Labour majority to win the Norwich seat by 7,348 votes, Labour MPs gave warning that, unless the party did more than peddle scare stories about possible Tory spending cuts, it faced a wipeout at the next election.
Cabinet sources have revealed that one idea being developed is to paint Cameron as a leader opposed to a wide-ranging reform of the political system that voters are demanding following the scandal over MPs’ expenses.
As part of this, plans are being considered to hold a referendum on general election day in which people would be asked to support or reject a switch from the present first-past-the-post system to a new model, under which candidates would need to have the support of at least 50% of voters to be elected.
If a majority backed change, a new method of voting called Alternative Vote (AV) could then be introduced at the election after next. Critics say first-past-the-post is unfair as it does not reward smaller parties in relation to their share of the vote and ensures the two main parties hold a virtual duopoly on power.
Government insiders say the plan would be a step towards fairer voting. But they also believe it has tactical attractions as it would force Cameron, a staunch supporter of first-past-the-post, to campaign actively against change and for a “no” vote ahead of an election.
A senior minister told the Observer: “This is around as an idea, although nothing has been decided. It is the kind of thing that could firm up in the months to come.”
Another source said: “It has the added attraction that if the Tories won power and the answer in the referendum was ‘yes’, the first act of a Cameron government would be to do something he was fundamentally opposed to, or overturn the will of the people.”
Gordon Brown has made clear that he is against a move to full proportional representation, because he does not want to break the link between MPs and their constituents. The AV system, however, would retain that link. Instead of simply marking an X on the ballot paper, voters would rank candidates on offer. If no one candidate gained a majority of first-preference votes, second preferences of the candidate who came last on the first ballot would be redistributed until someone reached the 50% threshold. Cabinet ministers favouring some form of change include Alan Johnson, Peter Hain, John Denham and Ben Bradshaw.
Willie Sullivan, from Vote for a Change, said the government had three months to show it was serious. A referendum would require legislation in November’s Queen’s speech.
“If we are going to restore faith in politics, we need more than tinkering,” he said. “The public expect a big bang reform, untainted by vested interests or political calculation. We need reform that puts the voters back in the driving seat. That means giving people a choice on whether or not we keep safe seats, jobs for life and the cheap theatre that passes for debate in our parliament.”
Last night Kate Hoey, the Labour MP for Vauxhall, said she was shocked by her party’s campaign in Norwich. “It was very negative, all about Tory spending cuts and stuff that frankly people did not believe. We have to do better than that to stand any chance at the next election.”
One senior Labour MP, Barry Sheerman, called Brown’s leadership into question, saying that the prime minister needed to reconnect with the public by the end of the summer.
“We’ve got to get our act together, and to get your act together you don’t go away for the summer and hope this all blows over,” he told BBC Radio 4′s Today programme. “The fact of the matter is we’ve got to think about how a party in government renews itself, how it does that. It’s partly a question of leadership, it’s partly a question of ideas.”
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Brown braced for defeat in Norwich
July 23rd, 2009 |
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Tory candidate expected to win in poll triggered by resignation of MP caught up in expenses scandal
Gordon Brown is bracing himself for electoral defeat as polls opened today in the Norwich North byelection.
Labour has held the seat comfortably since 1997 but the party is expected to pay a heavy price for the MPs’ expenses controversy in the first Westminster byelection since the Commons was rocked by the scandal.
David Cameron is due to visit the constituency for the sixth time this morning, giving a final boost to a campaign seen by Conservative headquarters as an important test of the party’s ability to withstand a Labour attack based on a “Tory cuts” message.
Unusually, the votes will be counted tomorrow rather than at the close of the polls this evening, partly because staffing a daytime count is easier. This has not happened at a byelection in recent years.
The byelection was caused by the resignation of Ian Gibson, a leftwinger who quit parliament after Labour ruled that he would not be allowed to stand at the next election because he used parliamentary expenses to fund a flat which he subsequently sold at a discount to his daughter.
Gibson, who was popular in the constituency, had a majority of 5,459 in 2005, and Labour’s decision to ban him as a candidate appears to have backfired, with some voters telling the party that they will not vote for his replacement, 28-year-old Chris Ostrowski, because they think Gibson was treated unfairly.
The Conservatives seem confident of victory. But they are nervous of comparisons with the Crewe and Nantwich byelection last year, when the Tories overturned a Labour majority of more than 7,000, winning by 7,860 with a swing of 17.6%.
“Crewe and Nantwich took place against the backdrop of the abolition of the 10p rate of tax and voters were so angry that they came straight over to us. Norwich North is different because, as a result of expenses, the voters are angry with all parties,” said one senior Tory.
Chloe Smith, the 27-year-old Conservative candidate, has responded to the challenge of campaigning in a climate of scepticism about politicians by issuing her own “contract with the people of Norwich North” containing various promises on policy and expenses.
The Liberal Democrats, who were well behind the Tories in 2005, claimed yesterday that it was now a Tory-Lib Dem contest, and that Labour could come third behind their candidate, April Pond.
At the start of the byelection, Labour campaigned aggressively on the theme of “Tory cuts”, in what was seen as a dry run for the general election strategy being planned by Brown. But the Tories believe that this tactic has been unsuccessful in Norwich North because they are winning the argument on public spending nationally.
Labour’s campaign suffered a blow when Ostrowski was taken to hospital with swine flu yesterday. He was recuperating today, but cabinet ministers Andy Burnham and Alan Johnson were in Norwich North campaigning on his behalf.
“I am very confident that we can win this byelection,” said Burnham. Privately, Labour was trying to make life difficult for Cameron by suggesting that anything less than a 10,000 majority would be a disappointment for the Tory leader.
The other candidates are: Peter Baggs (Independent), Thomas Burridge (Libertarian party), Anne Fryatt (None of the Above party), Bill Holden (Independent), Laud Howling (The Official Monster Raving Loony party), Craig Murray (Put An Honest Man into Parliament), Rupert Read (Green), Glenn Tingle (UK Independence party) and Robert West (British National party).
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Labour braces for byelection defeat in Norwich
July 22nd, 2009 |
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David Cameron makes sixth constituency visit to exploit voter anger at banning of Ian Gibson over expenses
Voters will go to the polls tomorrow in the Norwich North byelection with Gordon Brown braced for defeat in a seat that Labour has held comfortably since 1997.
David Cameron is due to visit the constituency for the sixth time in the morning, giving a final boost to a campaign seen by Conservative headquarters as an important test of the party’s ability to withstand a Labour attack based on a “Tory cuts” message.
Unusually, the votes will be counted on Friday, rather than tomorrow night, partly because staffing a daytime count is easier. This has not happened at a byelection in recent years.
The byelection was caused by the resignation of Ian Gibson, a leftwinger who left parliament after Labour ruled that he would not be allowed to stand at the next election because he used parliamentary expenses to fund a flat which he subsequently sold at a discount to his daughter .
Gibson, who was popular in the constituency, had a majority of 5,459 in 2005 and Labour’s decision to ban him as a candidate appears to have backfired, with some voters telling the party that they will not vote for his replacement, 28-year-old Chris Ostrowski, because they think Gibson was treated unfairly.
The Conservatives seem confident of victory. But they are nervous of comparisons with the Crewe and Nantwich byelection last year, when the Tories overturned a Labour majority of more than 7,000, winning by 7,860 with a swing of 17.6%.
“Crewe and Nantwich took place against the backdrop of the abolition of the 10p rate of tax and voters were so angry that they came straight over to us. Norwich North is different because, as a result of expenses, the voters are angry with all parties,” said one senior Tory.
Chloe Smith, the 27-year-old Conservative candidate, has responded to the challenge of campaigning in a climate of scepticism about politicians by issuing her own “contract with the people of Norwich North” containing various promises on policy and expenses.
The Liberal Democrats, who were well behind the Tories in 2005, claimed yesterday that it was now a Tory/Lib Dem contest, with their candidate April Pond, and that Labour could come third.
At the start of the byelection Labour campaigned aggressively on the theme of “Tory cuts”, in what was seen as a dry run for the general election strategy being planned by Brown. But the Tories believe that this tactic has been unsuccessful in Norwich North because they are winning the argument on public spending nationally.
Labour’s campaign suffered a blow when Ostrowski was taken to hospital with swine flu yesterday. He was recuperating today, but cabinet ministers Andy Burnham and Alan Johnson were in Norwich North campaigning on his behalf.
“I am very confident that we can win this byelection,” said Burnham. Privately, Labour was trying to make life difficult for Cameron by suggesting that anything less than a 10,000 majority would be a disappointment for the Tory leader.
The other candidates are: Peter Baggs (Independent), Thomas Burridge (Libertarian Party), Anne Fryatt (None of The Above Party), Bill Holden (Independent), Laud Howling (The Official Monster Raving Loony Party), Craig Murray (Put An Honest Man into Parliament), Rupert Read (Green), Glenn Tingle (UK Independence Party) and Robert West (British National Party).
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Deaths rise during anti-knife drive
July 22nd, 2009 |
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Number of killings up in cities targeted in £3m crime campaign
The high-profile government campaign to tackle knife crime in big English cities has failed to cut the number of fatal stabbings, according to Home Office figures published today.
The number of teenage homicide victims of knife crime remained unchanged at 23, while the number of adults over the age of 20 killed actually went up during the campaign by seven to 103, results of the official monitoring programme show.
The failure of the £3m campaign to reduce the number of teenagers killed in knife attacks in England’s 10 priority police areas is a severe embarrassment to ministers on a highly political crime issue that is likely to dominate the debate on law and order between now and the general election.
Ministers will tomorrow launch a £5m second phase of the “tackling knives action programme” (TKAP) which will see the campaign expanded to 16 police force areas and widened to tackle all forms of serious violence among 13- to 24-year-olds, including gang culture.
Home Office ministers preferred to emphasise the research findings that violent knife crime incidents involving those aged 19 and under were down by 17% during the first phase of the campaign, which ran from July 2008 to March this year.
The home secretary, Alan Johnson, also cited a 32% reduction in NHS hospital admissions for knife crime victims in the 10 target areas.
The Home Office said this compared with an 18% drop in hospital admissions for stabbing injuries outside the targeted areas over the same period.
Controversy has surrounded the knife crime statistics since last December, when the former home secretary Jacqui Smith had to apologise to parliament for the “premature release” of the hospital data when she made public some early results to suggest that the police were making headway against knife crime. Sir Michael Scholar, the head of the UK Statistics Authority spoke out publicly against her “premature, irregular and selective” use of statistics.
The figures published today show that much of the overall 17% reduction in teenage violent knife crime victims is concentrated in some of the biggest cities, including London and Birmingham. But in three out of the 10 police forces involved – Greater Manchester, Nottinghamshire and Thames Valley – violent knife crime went up during the campaign.
The Metropolitan police have had some modest success in reducing the total number of knife crime murders by three, and the West Yorkshire force succeeded in reducing the number of teenage deaths from seven to none during the campaign period. But Manchester saw the number of teenage murder victims of knife crime rise by four and the death toll on Merseyside rose by three.
The number of robberies involving a knife fell by 13% for those 19 and under but rose by 11% for those involving adults.
The campaign included the extensive use of knife arches and wands at pubs, train, tube and bus stations, after-school police patrols and stop-and-search campaigns. More than 250,000 searches yielded 5,469 knives and other weapons.
Home Office statisticians said the overall findings were encouraging, suggesting fewer youngsters were becoming victims. “While caution must be applied when interpreting these trends, TKAP may have contributed to a decline in some measures and persisting reductions in others,” said the official research report.
Chief constable Keith Bristow, who is in charge of rolling out the second phase, said “public angst” over knife crime was understandable: “In any crime reduction approach the first thing to do is arrest the increase and turn that cycle around.
“This is a long journey. Success when you’re dealing with these sort of problems might be measured in generations, not weeks or months.”
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Police still failing black people, MPs report
July 21st, 2009 |
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The treatment of black people by the police on issues such as stop and search and the national DNA database has worsened since the official inquiry into the murder of Stephen Lawrence 10 years ago, according to MPs.
A report published by the Commons home affairs select committee tomorrow says the police have made some “tremendous strides” in the past decade in the way they investigate race crimes and other criticial incidents involving minority ethnic communities, but MPs say there remains a number of outstanding concerns.
“Black communities in particular are disproportionately represented in stop and search statistics and on the national DNA database; in fact, the gap has increased,” they conclude.
The cross-party group of MPs say that black people are now seven times more likely to be stopped by the police than white people. A decade ago, when the Macpherson report into the murder of black teenager Stephen Lawrence was published, black people were six times more likely to be stopped.
The MPs also heard evidence that more than 30% of all black men who have been arrested now have their DNA profiles logged on the national DNA database, compared with 10% of all white men and 10% of all Asian men. The committee also expresses its disappointment that the police still fails to meet its target of employing 7% of its officers from minority ethnic communities by 2009.
They are also concerned that black and minority ethnic officers continue to experience difficulties in achieving promotion, as well as being more likely to be subject to disciplinary procedures. Keith Vaz, chairman of the home affairs select committee, said such disproportionate representation of black people in the criminal justice system would continue to damage community relations.
The home secretary, Alan Johnson, said the majority of Macpherson’s recommendations had been implemented, bringing many positive changes in race equality.
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UK downgrades terror alert level
July 20th, 2009 |
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Officials reduce assessment of threat from ‘severe’ to ‘substantial’, its lowest level since 9/11
The official assessment of the threat level of an al-Qaida terrorist attack on Britain has been lowered from “severe” – where an attack is deemed highly likely – to “substantial”, where an attack is considered a strong possibility.
The decision to lower the official threat level follows a new assessment by MI5 and the joint terrorism analysis centre, based on intelligence gathered in Britain and abroad on how close terrorist groups may be to staging an attack.
The designation of a “substantial” threat level is the lowest since 9/11. It confirms that the swine flu pandemic is now a bigger threat to the life of the nation than terrorism.
The home secretary, Alan Johnson, acknowledged that fact on Sunday, when he told the BBC’s Andrew Marr programme that swine flu came “above terrorism as a threat to this country”. He said the long-term preparations had involved the whole “Cobra machinery”, a reference to the Cabinet’s emergency committe that handles major disasters.
The decision reportedly follows an official assessment of Operation Pathway, one of MI5′s biggest counterterrorism campaigns, which led to the arrest of 11 Pakistani men in April. All those arrested were released without charge, and no explosives or weapons were found.
The system of threat levels is made up of five stages. At “critical”, an attack is expected imminently. At “severe”, an attack is regarded as highly likely. At “substantial”, an attack is a strong possibility. At “moderate” an attack is possible but not likely. And at “low”, an attack is deemed unlikely.
The home secretary said in a statement: “We still face a real and serious threat from terrorists and the public will notice little difference in the security measures that are in place, and I urge the public to remain vigilant. The police and security services are continuing in their thorough efforts to discover, track and disrupt terrorist activity.”
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Extraditing hacker ‘could be disaster’
July 14th, 2009 |
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Gary McKinnon, who hacked into US military computers, will suffer psychologically if imprisoned there, his lawyers say
“Humanitarian considerations” that have arisen in the case of Asperger’s syndrome sufferer Gary McKinnon mean he should not face trial in the US for hacking into American military computers, the high court heard today.
In a last-ditch attempt to overturn earlier court decisions that the 43-year-old “UFO enthusiast” should be extradited, his lawyers accused prosecutors of ignoring the “disastrous consequences” of facing trial and a possible lengthy prison sentence in an American “supermax” prison.
The case also comes as the Tories are expected to devote an opposition day debate in parliament tomorrow to McKinnons’ extradition, after David Cameron said he was “deeply saddened and worried” about the case.
McKinnon’s barrister, Ed Fitzgerald, told the high court: “The Crown Prosecution Service wrongly failed to address the specific human rights issues, and the humanitarian issue, raised by the claimant’s Aspergers syndrome.
“The CPS, as a public authority, had a duty to consider whether its failure to prosecute [in the UK] has inevitably exposed him to an avoidable and unnecessary risk of serious psychological suffering,” he added.
The hearing comes after McKinnon signed a statement earlier this year admitting he had committed an offence under UK law by hacking into 97 computers belonging to the US navy and Nasa. The incident, which the US government says is the “biggest military hack of all time” and cost more than $700,000 (£430,000) in repairs, has led to talks between UK prosecutors and the US department of justice since charges were originally brought against the 43-year-old in New Jersey in 2002.
Although previous attempts to halt the extradition – which reached the House of Lords last year – failed, McKinnon’s lawyers have since obtained a diagnosis of Asperger’s syndrome after consulting two psychiatrists last year.
“Both experts referred to the grave risk to his health if he was extradited to the US, and [autism expert] Professor [Simon] Baron-Cohen referred to the risk to his life,” Fitzgerald said. “[The director of public prosecutions] failed to confront the human rights arguments for prosecutions in this country rather than in the US,” Fitzgerald added.
Both former home secretary Jacqui Smith and the current home secretary, Alan Johnson, have said they would comply with US requests for McKinnon’s extradition, while prosecutors argue that although McKinnon has admitted to “computer misuse” under UK law, it is less serious than the offence of “computer fraud” alleged against him in the US
The CPS, which defended its positiontoday , claims that the damage caused by the offence took place in the US, and that the investigation and most of the witnesses and evidence were located there. In February the director of public prosecutions, Keir Starmer, said there was not enough evidence to try McKinnon in the UK, an argument which McKinnon’s lawyers deny.
“This was inconsistent with the CPS’s own finding that there was sufficient evidence to prosecute,” Fitzgerald said. “McKinnon’s computer hacking conduct all took place in the UK, insofar as he was located here and using a computer in his home in the UK when he gained unauthorised access to the US systems.”
McKinnon, from Wood Green, north London, is described as “vulnerable” and “misguided” by his supporters, who contrast the efforts to extradite him with terrorist suspects who have been kept in the UK.
“I will not give up this fight until the government intervenes to protect my vulnerable son,” McKinnon’s mother, Janis Sharp, said. “When considering the extradition of Abu Hamza, the then home secretary said ‘Had we evidence in this country of a crime committed here then of course the police and the attorney general would have taken action’. Well, if that’s the approach for a convicted terrorist, why not for a gentle, misguided Asperger’s sufferer like Gary?”
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Tories plan youths’ phone and bike confiscation
July 14th, 2009 |
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Chris Grayling outlines ’21st century clip around the ear’ for young troublemakers
Police should be given powers to seize young troublemakers mobile phones or bikes as punishment for antisocial behaviour, the Tories said today.
Chris Grayling, the shadow home secretary, said he wanted officers to confiscate such possessions for up to a month to deter badly behaved youths.
He said losing their phone or bike would be a “21st century clip around the ear” for youngsters who stepped out of line, and would help disrupt gang activity.
The idea is part of wider plans to give officers more discretion to hand out punishments in communities blighted by antisocial “yobs”.
Grayling has already suggested young people could be grounded by the authorities and only allowed out to go to school.
In a speech to a thinktank in central London, he said government policies aimed at tackling louts, such as antisocial behaviour orders, were “over-prescriptive” and “over-bureaucratic”.
He told an audience at the Centre for Policy Studies that all police officers ought to be given more discretion and better punishments to deal with the “Nokia generation”.
Informal community punishments would help police deal with antisocial behaviour without leaving troublemakers with a long-term criminal record that could harm their employment prospects, he said.
He said: “If we are to deter potential troublemakers, the consequences they face have to be relevant to the lives they lead, and to be immediate. Otherwise why would they stop what they are doing?
“I’d like to see police given the power to confiscate, temporarily, a young troublemaker’s mobile phone, removing their sim card, with all their mobile numbers and text messages on it, for a fortnight or a month; not permanently, but long enough to make a point.”
Earlier this month Alan Johnson, the home secretary, admitted the government had been complacent in tackling loutish behaviour.
He revealed that some victims of antisocial behaviour are having to wait up to two years for the people who targeted them to be dealt with.
While accepting that the government had “dragged its feet” on the issue, Johnson said he wanted to give it an “extra push”.
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30,000 involved in organised crime
July 13th, 2009 |
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Home secretary unveils strategy to target 30,000 criminals with more powers to seize assets and close front businesses
Between 25,000 and 30,000 criminals are involved in the “long tail” of a serious organised crime business in Britain that is worth more than £30bn a year, according to a government study.
The home secretary, Alan Johnson, has endorsed a renewed “Al Capone-style” drive to use tax powers to target organised criminals, providing stronger powers to seize assets and shut down front organisations such as saunas and massage parlours.
The study warns of an explosion in new criminal activities as a result of the recession, including sharp increases in “phishing” – taking over bank accounts – the flourishing trade in counterfeit goods and a boom in other types of financial fraud.
The joint report, by the Cabinet Office’s strategy unit and the Home Office, does not directly criticise the performance of the beleaguered three-year-old Serious and Organised Crime Agency (Soca) but it says much tighter oversight is needed by ministers to keep a grip on the problem.
The Home Office said a “strategic centre” for organised crime would be created in the department to clearly define roles in tackling drug trafficking, organised immigration crime and organised fraud. Further action will be taken next summer if needed.
At the same time the capacity of the police is to be augmented by a further four regional asset recovery teams to complete the network across England and Wales. Each will have tax inspector attached and the Home Office is to extend the legal power to “reverse the burden of proof” in civil recovery cases to make it easier to seize assets of those in organised crime.
Renewed efforts to break up organised gangs even after conviction will be made through an attempt to ban the use of mobile phones in prisons and curb the “abuse” of legally privileged visits between lawyers and clients.
The strategy was published as Home Office research placed a question mark over the credibility of Britain’s controls on people trafficking. A Home Office study, based on interviews with 45 convicted people smugglers, found that Britain was seen as a “relatively easy” market offering healthy profits. Those questioned were, however, surprised at the severity of their sentences.
Home Office polling data published today also shows that the public have little recognition that money generated by sales of pirate and counterfeit goods can flow into the criminal economy. The estimate of 25,000 to 30,000 involved in organised crime in Britain is said to include the “lifetime criminals who form the durable core of organised crime groups and loose criminal networks, through to the clusters of subordinates, specialists and others at the lower end of organised criminality”. This covers the “top of the chain” through to the “long tail” of organised crime.
Soca says more than 5,000 of them are already on its radar.
The £30bn a year estimate covers the total cost of economic and social harm caused by organised crime. This figure breaks down into £17.6bn in the costs of drug-related crime, £7.8bn in financial fraud, £4.1bn in smuggling of spirits, tobacco and diesel and £2.4bn a year in organised immigration crime.
The Cabinet Office strategy unit also warns that the recession is creating new opportunities for organised criminals. They cite an increased risk of loan-sharking and trading in counterfeit goods, with a warning of a rise in gang-related violence as they battle for market share.
The banking crisis has also made the public more susceptible to frauds that offer high returns on investments; an increase in “phishing” scams has led to a 75% increase in illegitimate access to victims’ bank accounts in the first three months of 2009 alone.
Another threat comes in the form of a rise in cases of cybercrime, with the number of malware – malicious software programme – attacks on IT systems increasing by 250% last year.
Ministers are also concerned about growing links between weak and failing states and organised crime. Gangs are increasingly basing themselves in places such as Somalia, where drug trafficking networks are increasingly located.
The home secretary said the new strategy went further than ever in taking the fight to organised criminals.
But Deputy Chief Constable Jon Murphy, of the Association of Chief Police Officers, said political decisions could be behind a gap between the scale of the problem and the ability of law enforcement agencies to tackle it. “I think we all acknowledge that gap does exist. Why does it exist?” said Murphy. “Arguably, it could be because it’s a political decision. I think equally it’s because of the changing nature of criminality.
“British organised crime gangs are fluid, flexible and opportunistic. There are no set ranks, rules or structures which you can see with international crime gangs.”
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30,000 involved in organised crime
July 13th, 2009 |
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Government backs fresh drive to tackle drugs, immigration and fraud gangs after data shows surge in organised illegal activity
Between 25,000 to 30,000 criminals are involved in the “long tail” of a serious organised crime business in Britain that is worth more than £30bn a year, according to a study published today.
The home secretary, Alan Johnson, has endorsed a renewed drive to use tax powers to target organised criminals, taking even stronger powers to seize their assets, and shut down front organisations such as saunas and massage parlours.
The joint report, by the Cabinet Office’s strategy unit and the Home Office, warns of an explosion in new types of crime as a result of the recession, with sharp increases recorded this year in the counterfeit goods trade, “phishing” – taking over other people’s bank accounts – and other types of financial fraud.
The study does not directly criticise the performance of the beleaguered serious organised crime agency, but it does say much tighter oversight is needed by ministers to keep a grip on the problem.
The Home Office plans create a new strategic centre for organised crime to ensure that clear roles are laid down for tackling drug trafficking, organised immigration crime, and organised fraud. Further action will be taken next summer if a more aggressive approach is not achieved.
At the same time the capacity of the police is to be boosted by a further four regional asset-recovery teams to complete the network across England and Wales. Each will have its own tax inspector, and the Home Office is to extend the teams’ legal powers to “reverse the burden of proof” in civil recovery cases, to make it easier to seize the assets of those involved in organised crime.
The data was published as another Home Office study called into question the credibility of Britain’s controls to curb people-trafficking. The research, based on interviews with 45 convicted people-smugglers, showed that most thought Britain was a soft touch, with a low risk of detection and a market that conferred healthy profits. Many of those surveyed did, however, express surprise at the severity of the sentences they had received.
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Passport details to be kept on ID register
July 1st, 2009 |
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Johnson accused of pressing ahead compulsory scheme by ‘back door’
British citizens who apply for or renew their passport will be automatically registered on the national identity card database under regulations to be approved by MPs in the next few weeks.
The decision to press ahead with the main elements of the national identity card scheme follows a review by the home secretary, Alan Johnson, of the £4.9bn project. Although Johnson said the cards would not be compulsory, critics say the passport measures amount to an attempt to introduce the system by the backdoor.
Johnson said he had halted plans to introduce compulsory identity cards for airline pilots and 30,000 other “critical workers” at Manchester and London City airports this autumn in the face of threats of legal action. Longer term plans to extend compulsory ID cards to other transport industries, such as the railways, as a condition of employment have also been scrapped.
But two batches of draft regulations to be approved by MPs tomorrow and next week are expected to include powers to make the passport a “designated document” under the national identity card scheme. This means that anyone applying for or renewing their passport from 2011 will have their details automatically added to the national identity databases.
The regulations also include powers to levy a fine of up to £1,000 on those who fail to tell the authorities of a change of address or amend other key personal details such as a change of name within three months.
Johnson said he wanted to see the introduction of identity cards accelerated for foreign nationals resident in Britain and for young “early adopters” for whom they would act as a useful proof of age. This trial is to be extended from Manchester to other parts of the north-west.
The home secretary is also looking at the possibility of waiving the £30 fee for those over 75 who want a voluntary identity card.
“There will be significant benefits to individuals from holding an identity card, which will become the most convenient, secure and affordable way of asserting identity in everyday life,” said Johnson. “Identity cards will also be valid for travel throughout Europe in place of a British passport.”
The home secretary emphasised his personal commitment to a voluntary scheme, saying it should be a personal choice for British citizens just as it is now to obtain a passport.
He also denied that there were any significant public spending savings to be made by cancelling the project saying: “This scheme pays for itself. If you cancel all you will get is diddly squat.”
This is a reference to the self-financing nature of the project under which it is to be paid for through increased charges for passports and the £60 cost of a biometric identity card.
The only way for ID card critics to avoid being included on the national identity card databases will be not to apply or renew their passport – and so not to leave the country. As about 80% of the population currently hold a passport, the Identity and Passport Service believe that take-up of the voluntary scheme would be high.
Critics argue that at that point a political decision could be made about whether it should become compulsory for the rest of the population.
Isabella Sankey, director of policy at the human rights group Liberty, said the home secretary needed to be clear as to whether entry onto the national identity register was going to continue to be automatic when applying for a passport.
“If so, the identity scheme will be compulsory in practice. However you spin it, big ears, four legs and a long trunk still make an elephant,” she said.
“And this white elephant would be as costly to privacy and race equality as to our purses.”
Chris Grayling, the shadow home secretary, said the decision to drop the compulsory airport trials was symbolic of a government in chaos.
“They have spent millions on the scheme so far – the home secretary thinks it has been a waste and wants to scrap it, but the prime minister won’t let him. So we end up with an absurd fudge instead,” he said.
Guy Herbert of the No2ID campaign said the pressing ahead with making the passport a “designated document” made a nonsense of the home secretary’s assertion that the scheme was not compulsory.
“It is not compulsory as long as you don’t want to leave the country,” he said.
He said that the announcements made by Johnson were part of the Home Office’s continuing strategy to defend the scheme against cancellation by stretching it out further and further and by aligning it ever closer with the passport system.
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ID card trial for airline staff scrapped
June 30th, 2009 |
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• Home secretary says ID cards will remain voluntary for Britons
• Pilot scheme to run in north-west England early next year
A compulsory identity card trial for pilots and 30,000 other airport workers due to start in September has been abandoned by the new home secretary, Alan Johnson. But he intends to accelerate other elements of the scheme, including plans to issue £30 voluntary ID cards to young adults across north-west England. Johnson is also looking at making ID cards free for over-75s.
Longer-term plans to make ID cards compulsory for critical workers at railway stations have also been dropped.
British citizens would not be forced to carry ID cards, the home secretary insisted. Johnson said: “Holding an identity card should be a personal choice for British citizens – just as it is now to obtain a passport.
“Accordingly, I want the introduction of identity cards for all British citizens to be voluntary and I have therefore decided that identity cards issued to airside workers, planned initially at Manchester and London City airports later this year, should also be voluntary.” Asked if the cards would ever be made compulsory he said “No”, adding: “If a future government wanted to make them compulsory it would require primary legislation.”
Johnson said he still believed the cards would help improve security at airports. But he admitted the government had allowed the perception to develop that the cards would be a “panacea” that would stop terrorism.
Listing the benefits of the scheme at a press conference in central London, he did not at first mention tackling terrorism. Instead, he said the cards would help stop illegal working, people-trafficking and ID fraud.
Johnson said he was an instinctive supporter of ID cards and wanted to accelerate their delivery.
A pilot scheme covering Greater Manchester would be extended to the whole of the north-west of England from early next year, he added. Everyone who wants a card, or a biometric passport, will have their details stored on the national identity register.
Civil liberties groups said this amounted to a compulsory scheme. Isabella Sankey, director of policy for Liberty, said: “The home secretary needs to be clear as to whether entry on to the national identity register will continue to be automatic when applying for a passport. If so, the identity scheme will be compulsory in practice. However you spin it, big ears, four legs and a long trunk still make an elephant. And this white elephant would be as costly to privacy and race equality as to our purses.”
The shadow home secretary, Chris Grayling, accused the Government of an “absurd fudge”. He said: “They have spent millions on the scheme so far – the home secretary thinks it has been a waste and wants to scrap it, but the prime minister won’t let him.”
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