Jonathan Evans delivered a speech yesterday which spelt out his support for control orders, the anti-terrorism legislation which allows the state to monitor terror suspects via electronic tag, curfew, a ban on overseas travel, and a variety of other measures. There is currently a review of terrorism legislation under way, so Evans' intervention is welcome one. Control orders are currently the best option we have, something I highlight in a Centre for Social Cohesion report on the issue, released last week.
It appears that the ground is shifting on this debate.The Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats were both quick to lambast the legislation when out of power, though the reality of government appears to have tempered this. Whitehall mandarins are now leaking to the Daily Telegraph that control orders "are likely to be retained in some form". Anonymous Tory ministers, talking to the Independent, also hint at a change in the Conservative position, saying they were "unaware of the gravity of the security situation while in opposition". This is hard to believe, considering how widely known the scale of the terrorist threat facing the UK is. More likely, control orders were being opportunistically used by the Conservatives as a stick to hit Labour with when in opposition and to make the party appear strong on civil liberties.
However, there is a real uncertainty over what the Liberal Democrat response will be on all of this. The likes of Chris Huhne were very explicit in their dislike of control orders, and his party has called for the system to be disbanded. It will be interesting to see how the Lib Dems plan on balancing national security, election promises and their principles on civil liberties without further disenchanting their core voters and badly damaging the Coalition.
