Mr Blair said he had been advised by the police
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'We cannot risk changing course now', Tony Blair said today, as the government
published proposals to cancel parliamentary elections.
Speaking at a Downing Street press
conference, the Prime Minister said that "even
the chance of a change of government would be a
victory for the terrorists".
"We must not let them change
our way of life", said Mr Blair. "Terrorism
will not be defeated until our determination is as
complete as theirs, our defence of freedom as absolute
as their fanaticism, our passion for our way of life
as great as their passion for tyranny."
Advice from the police
Mr Blair said that the police had
advised him that elections would be dangerous. "They
would divert attention from the war on terror",
he said. "If the public chose a new government,
that would be a victory for terrorism. We must not
take that chance. Holding elections would be contrary
to the strong advice given to us by our security
services and our police, and I am simply not prepared
to do it."
"This is not an issue to play around
with," he said, accusing critics of trying to generate
a propaganda victory for terrorists.
"The civil liberties of the majority
who need protection should come first," the prime
minister said.
There had to be a "very good reason" for
politicians to say to the police, "no, we know better
than you",
he argued.
Conservative leader David Davis said
that his party would fully support the government's
proposals. "We recognise that times have changed",
he said. "The most important liberty is the
right to life, and we have to accept that some of
our other liberties must be curtailed.
Mr Blair has announced that MPs will
in future be nominated by the Government. He is under
pressure from backbenchers to create a Parliamentary
Appointments Panel to advice on nominations. But
a Downing Street spokesman ruled out any concessions:
"We have to be make sure that only properly vetted
people are appointed", he said.
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The
security services and the police are advising us that we need to take these
unusual steps to defeat those who are planning and plotting terrorist activity
in our country
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Home Secretary David Blunkett, whose return to front-line
politics has caught Westminster by surprise, said that
"middle class do gooders are putting our lives at
risk".
Speaking to the Sheffield Echo, he said "They
complained when we abolished trial by jury. They complained
when we introduced detention without trial. They complained
about the introduction of ID cards. They wanted us to
stop using evidence obtained by torture and to end rendition.
But the vast majority of hard-working families up and
down the land don't want all these procedures: they
want speedy and effective justice. They are fed up with
the civil liberties lobby crying wolf. "
Stan Miner, MP for Yorkshire North, said he would reluctantly
support the idea. "The Prime Minister would not
be proposing this unless he had clear advice from the
intelligence services", he said. Angus McFaddyn,
who represents a constituency in the Scottish highlands,
said that he too would be supporting the Government.
"This is a necessary evil in England and Wales", he
said. "I am pleased that the Government has accepted
that, with the lower risk of political instability here
in Scotland, we should to continue to hold elections."
Addressing MPs at Prime Minister's Questions in the
Commons, Mr Blair added: "What I have to do is to try
to do my best to protect people in this country and to make sure
that their safety and their civil liberty to life come
first, and that is what I'm going to try to do."
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