I just wrote a letter to my MP and thought it would be worth sharing here.

Dear Meg Hillier, 

I am concerned by the great potential for misuse presented by the anti-terrorism legislation introduced in recent years. It is an issue that has worried me for some time but I have been moved to write to you now after hearing the topic raised in parliament today.

The latest cause for concern is the use of the Counter Terrorism Act 2008 in restricting the public’s freedom to take photographs featuring police constables. The act contains the clause “[photographs] of a kind likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism” and yet, after barely a month of the law being in force, there are already reports of abuse. One such report involves an elderly man being intimidated into deleting an image in which a police car was visible parked on double-yellow lines.

But the larger issue is the multitude of wide-reaching powers being granted to the police force under the banner of anti-terrorism in what I believe to be a climate of fear and unwarranted hysteria. One such power is the much publicised 28 day detention without charge but there are many others of equally questionable validity. Not only am I vehemently opposed to any extension of the 28 day period but I believe that 28 days is already too long and must be reduced. We are assured that these laws are necessary for our safety and will only be used against extremists, yet time and again we see the same laws being abused and misused.

During the Heathrow Climate Camp in August 2007, for example, it was widely reported in the media that police had been briefed to use laws introduced under the Terrorism Act 2006 against the protesters. The attempts to justify this by claiming that the assembled environmentalists presented a terrorist threat were laughable.

It is not possible to introduce legislation to be “used only against terrorists”. The police, by definition, do not know if a suspect is a terrorist at the time he or she is detained, or else an extended detention period would not be required. So who gets to decide when counter terrorism laws are applicable? It’s only a small leap of the imagination from here to an Orwellian reality in which losing your freedom is just one wrong thought away.

I am sympathetic to the police’s cause and I understand that investigators want more time in order to do their work to the best of their abilities. But I challenge you to show me any professional who does not believe they could do a better job if only they were given more time in which to do it.

While the events of 7th July 2005 were undeniably tragic for the friends & relatives of those who lost their lives, it is worth keeping a sense of perspective. In the UK, more people are killed in traffic accidents every week than have died in terrorist related incidents in the past 10 years. If we, as a society, are not willing to give up the convenience that cars afford us, then how can we justify giving up our human right to freedom?

Yours sincerely,

Tamlyn Rhodes.

This is probably the political issue I feel strongest about right now. These laws scare me far more than the terrorism they are meant to protect me from. And yet i feel pretty powerless to do anything about it.

For now, writing to my MP will have to do.