Spy chief claims an excuse for loss of liberty?

WHEN the head of Britain’s MI5 pontificates in public upon various matters (November 6) we can be assured of two things: first, his script is carefully written and, second, he carries a message which is not disagreeable to the British government.

Whether his arguments are sensible, or stand up to scrutiny, is something else entirely.

Jonathan Evans claims 2,000 people pose a threat to British security because of their support for terrorism. What exactly does he mean by ‘support’ and how does he come by this nice round number?

More worrying is his assertion that “children of 15 or 16” are being groomed for martyrdom. This is a bit rich coming from a man whose colleagues in the armed forces happily recruit 16-year-olds to be groomed to fight for their country, except that it’s called training, of course. But Evans’s speech is laden with emotive language to stir the heart and close the mind rather than enlighten the debate.

In looking to see why this might be so, it is instructive to note that the British government has been surreptitiously gathering the fingerprints of as many children as it can via schools. This has caused alarm among those who value the freedom of the individual to go unmolested by the state — and so any excuse for the authorities to continue to do so, especially if they can cite the protection of the child, is abused for this purpose.

Why should governments want such information? The analysis does not make comfortable reading for those who’d hoped they’d seen the last of illiberal and authoritarian states in Europe.

We must therefore treat the words of this spymaster with caution. He has responsibilities to carry out but that does not mean he should allow himself to be just another cog in a propaganda machine.

Justin Roberts

Ballynagleragh

Lattin

Co Tipperary