The government today faced fierce criticism after three terror suspects disappeared while under control orders, controversial security measures introduced after the September 11 2001 attacks.
Amid fears that the three have fled abroad, the shadow minister for home affairs, Edward Garnier, accused the home secretary, John Reid, of presiding over “a serial shambles” and of not being in “charge of this agenda”.
– The Guardian
Pressure is increasing on Gordon Brown to adopt tougher safeguards against alleged “torture” flights carrying suspected terrorists to secret locations.
An all-party group of senior MPs has called for a change in the law to require written guarantees about the protection of the prisoners before Britain allows its airports to be used for the so-called “extraordinary rendition” flights by the US.
– The Independent
Hampshire’s deputy chief constable, Ian Readhead, is concerned about CCTV. He would be even more worried if he lived in Sevenoaks, a Kent town where a frightening extension of CCTV surveillance is occurring.
A local residents’ association, financially supported by its linked limited company, has initiated a CCTV surveillance scheme over a large area of public access through which its private road runs. This is Kippington Road, invariably described by estate agents as Sevenoaks’ most prestigious road, and populated by city bankers and other rich and powerful people. The aim is to guard every entrance and exit on to this road by a number of cameras. The first has been set up, without permission or notification, filming and recording both vehicles and individuals. Future cameras will also do this if Sevenoaks district council gives planning permission.
-The Guardian
More than three million households in Britain have rubbish bins equipped with “waste stealth tax” technology, it was claimed last night.
Ahead of today’s publication of the Government’s national waste strategy, a survey revealed that 68 town halls have spent millions of pounds buying bins with microchips.
– The Telegraph
The Government has decided against making an official approach to Moscow about the suspected involvement of the Russian intelligence services in the murder of Alexander Litvinenko, Whitehall sources told The Times yesterday.
“The view being taken is that this is a criminal matter, not an intelligence issue, and there is no intention on the part of the Government to focus on anything else in dealing with the Russians over this case,” a Foreign and Commonwealth Office official said.
During the police investigation into the killing, security sources told The Times that the case appeared to have all the hallmarks of a state-sanctioned assassination. But sources acknowledged yesterday that there was a gap between what was suspected and what could be viewed as “a provable trail”.
– The Telegraph
It is classified as a toy, can be operated by remote control and resembles a prop from Doctor Who. But the spy drone unveiled yesterday in Liverpool is the latest weapon being used by Merseyside police in their fight against crime.
The four-rotor device will be used in a three-month experiment from next month to monitor criminals and anti-social behaviour. It is a metre wide, weighs less than a bag of sugar, and can record images from a height of 500 metres.
The Hi Cam Microdrone was originally used in military reconnaissance operations. The drones, which are almost silent in use, can be sent up into the air within three minutes. They can operate with 10-megapixel stills cameras, digital video or infrared cameras and are flown either by remote control or by using programmed GPS navigation systems. The images they capture are recorded and sent to a support vehicle or directly to the force control room.
-The Guardian