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Nothing like a big sporting occasion…

Olympic security …to really bring out the authoritarianism in our authorities.

As reported in the Times this morning:

Police are planning to use an anti-terror law deemed unlawful by the European Court of Human Rights across the country during the London Olympics.

Senior officers are considering using Section 44 of the Terrorism Act 2000 at every Underground and railway station nationwide.

This decision does, of course, completely ignore last month's European Court judgement, ruling random stop and search illegal. Remember: there has never been a successful conviction for terrorist offences resulting from the use of Section 44. 

But in terms of liberty in Britain today, it is the words of Mr Thomas, the Olympic National Transport Security Co-ordinator for the Home Office, that are really concerning:

“We are planning on the assumption that there will be a severe threat to the UK during the Games, on the basis that we can then scale down rather than quickly scale up.”

This should not be the default position of security in Britain. Given that the hyperbolic threat level in Britain hasn't fallen below 'severe' since it was first made public in August 2006, what chance is there that these illegal stop and searches will see any scaling back before, during or after the Games?

Any excuse for this government.

By Dylan Sharpe

Posted on February 8, 2010 by Big Brother Watch Posted in Overbearing state
  • tony

    depressing but not unsurprising unfortunately – to be frank i’m dreading the 2012 games as an opportunity for Britain to show itself at its worst to the World

  • Lark

    “We are planning on the assumption that there will be a severe threat to the UK during the Games”
    The answer to the severe threat, if it really exists, is to get to grips with the underlying causes: the UK’s arrogant disregard for other nations; the UK’s invasion of Iraq; the UK’s belligerence; the UK’s crazy immigration ‘policy’. To mention but a few.
    The terrorists are maniacs, acting out of desperation. The UK government acts as a very effective recruiting sergeant for the terror merchants; the UK government loves the crackdown the ‘terror threat’ brings with it and the curtailment of our civil liberties.
    Count me out of 2012: I’ll be overseas for the duration; tony is right ~ Britain is going to show itself to the world as it really is, ie an authoritarian basket case.

  • zorro

    The governing authorities need a constant terror threat to keep people worried and malleable. It will never change now….The necessary legislation is already in place….All they need is an equivalent of the Loi des suspects or Loi de 22 Prairal in Revolutionary France….I am sure that they are working on it.

  • LeChiffre

    They are going to produce a ‘terror alert’ to postpone the General Election.