Daily Archives: January 5, 2007


Paul Routledge, writing in The Mirror, comments on the Home Secretary’s December 10 warning that a Christmas terrorist attack was “highly likely”: Given that 52 people died in the July 7 bombings in London, it is only right that we – and the politicians – should be vigilant about possible further threats to our safety. But the government has ulterior motives for keeping public fears at panic levels. Ministers want to justify the war in Iraq. And there’s the multibillion- pound ID cards fiasco. And the £2billion bill for MI5 and MI6. And the £24billion plan for “son of Trident” nuclear weapons. For all these reasons, as well as our personal security, they have an interest in overstating the terrorist threat. Regular warnings of impending Armageddon bolster the government’s case for military spending, social controls and intrusion into our private lives. It is vital that we stay alert – alert […]

Don’t be spooked by Reid’s scare tactics