Whichever political adviser it was — and nowadays there are some 100 in Downing Street — who came up with Prime Minister Tony Blair’s sound bite for his Press Conference on Aug. 5, can give himself a pat on the back because it was rather a good one. “Let no one be in any doubt, the rules of the game are changing.”
Tony Blair was using his monthly press conference in front of Britain’s top political journalists, to announce sweeping anti-terrorist proposals, which could lead to the deportation of many Islamic extremists before the year is out. Parliament is likely to be recalled next month to debate the measures, some of which will not need legislation.
“Coming to Britain is not a right and, even when people have come here, staying here carries with it a duty. That duty is to share and support the values that sustain the British way of life. Those who break that duty and try and incite or engage in violence against our country or our people have no place here,” said the prime minister.
Tony Blair is a great political communicator, and few world leaders can handle a press conference with a better touch. Hearing extracts of this conference on the radio and television suggested he had given a powerful performance, but when I read my newspaper at breakfast next morning my heart sank. When examined his proposals appeared rushed and not properly thought through. He had made a big splash, before departing for his family summer holiday, and I suspect he will regret some of his proposals at leisure over the next year or so.
In recent weeks and up to this conference Tony Blair has been magnificent. His handling of European issues, his visit to Singapore to help London win the Olympic Games, his leadership of the G-8 summit in Scotland, his calm yet firm reaction to the bombings in London on July 7, have all combined to greatly enhance his reputation. He worked hard to prevent a backlash against British Muslims. He suggested the “ideology” of the suicide bombers represented a poisoned “perversion” of Islam. Perversion seemed to many to be just the right word.
His announcement of the most sweeping anti-terrorism proposals in the last fifty years took the Home Office by surprise. Blair, who had attempted to build up a political consensus over terrorism, gave Charles Kennedy only 30 minutes notice of what was being cooked up; and the leader of the Liberal Democrats responded by saying the prime minister could not count on his party’s support. He believed the proposals risked “inflaming tensions and alienating Muslims”.
The hostile reaction from the Muslim community was most significant. Very sensibly Blair had leading Muslims into Downing Street in July to plan the way forward. Now there was anger at his plans to ban certain Islamic organizations, shut down bookshops and deport radical preachers to countries that torture their prisoners.
Secretary-General of the Muslim Council of Britain Sir Iqbal Sacranie has a key role at this time. But he was “concerned and alarmed” at what was being proposed. He thought Muslims speaking out in favor of the Palestinian cause might face prosecutions.
“Our faith of Islam commands us to speak out against injustice wherever it occurs.”
A leading group against the Iraqi war was the Muslim Public Affairs Committee. It feared the proposals would marginalize young Muslims. Its spokesman, Asghar Bakhari, declared: “These sound like draconian and quite stupid laws... All the mainstream groups that have spoken against British foreign policy are worried that they will be on the list to be banned. This no longer looks like it’s about fighting terrorism, it looks like it’s about getting Muslims.”
Another anti-war group, the Muslim Association of Britain, feared Blair would “marginalize the Muslim community.”
Kate Allen, the UK director of Amnesty International, argued: “Some rules have not changed. Torture is wrong, and always will be.” Cherie Blair, the prime minister’s wife and a top human rights lawyer, recently warned the government not to interfere with the independence of the courts. The prime minister has unwisely warned the judges that, if they continue to resist the deportation of extremists, he would be prepared to amend the Human Rights Act. Inevitably he has stirred up within Britain considerable and highly articulate legal criticism.
While some of this reaction could be regarded as over-the-top, Blair has made a rod for his own back. A balance is essential between containing terrorism and protecting the rights of an individual. His hasty announcement, before going on a holiday, suggests he is failing to achieve that balance. Hopefully Parliament after the summer will build in the necessary cautions and corrections. One of its traditional tasks is to control the enthusiasm of the executive.
