The police are pushing for the creation of a 3,000-strong counter-terrorism border force made up of special branch and uniformed officers to improve surveillance at ports and airports.
The proposal, from the Association of Chief Police Officers (Acpo), is expected to be included in a police reform green paper to be trailed today by the home secretary, Jacqui Smith. It would allow greater collaboration and data sharing between police and the new 25,000-strong UK Border Agency, which has brought together immigration and Revenue and Customs officers since April.
Will they intercept aircraft with kidnapped people on board being flown to torture chambers abroad? Because y’know ACPO’s record on this…not so good.
“ACPO have admitted to me in a private letter that their investigation amounted to little more than a cursory review of reports on the issue – which they issued, 18 months after I requested it…”
Also will terrorists be allowed in as long as they are discreet?
Gay and lesbian asylum-seekers can be safely deported to Iran as long as they live their lives “discreetly”, the Home Secretary, Jacqui Smith, has claimed.
I think she really has nothing left as an encore except to resurrect Section 28. So Labour peeps, just how betrayed do you have to be before you do something?
24 June, 2008 at 3:03 pm
Wait, I got a question, does the UK have, you know, borders because I don’t see a flood of people moving from Eire to NI, and their islands so….
24 June, 2008 at 9:20 pm
Yeah it’s always faintly ridiculous when an ISLAND uses border panic to justify greater security forces, all wrapped up in xenophobia (now with added Terrorpanic!!!) to garner populist support from moronic tabloid readers.
ps. It also suggests they are making contingency plans. The future they envisage is tighter domestic security and control of the populace as they continue to pursue wars abroad and increasing inequality globally and domestically.
24 June, 2008 at 11:00 pm
Of course what their really doing is projecting their own fears. The powers that be see themselves losing power to those states and peoples which they once abused and dominated, ironically enough because these people are becoming increasingly adept at using the very same tools that once kept them down to lift themselves up.
I mean 500 years of Eurocentric domination will eventually teach you something and that something is, if you can’t beat them, join them and then beat them at their own game!
So then the masses must be mobilized to fear what they fear under the onus of a threat to the people and culture (I always laugh at that one, where were they went they destroyed others people cultures). Thus lining up the once confident but now terrified populous behind their goals, even though in the end it will be the very populous that pays the price for their leaders short term greed and avarice.
24 June, 2008 at 11:52 pm
It’s also the security industry, once it’s got it’s voice heard in govt. everything becomes a security issue -if all you’ve got is a hammer every problem looks like a nail- combined with capital’s interests and exploitations and yeah people will pay the price. I think there is very little chance the UK won’t be a very securitised state within a decade, our local councils have spying powers now, no police, no judge, they can spy and get all your records!