'Something is not working...' Shami Chakrabarti roasted over Labour's stance on security
SHAMI CHAKRABARTI has insisted Labour will tackle terrorism “within the rule of law” and rubbished Theresa May’s reaction to the London terror attack during a heated grilling.
Shami Chakrabarti grilled over Labour stance on security
The shadow attorney general hit out at the Prime Minister after she pledged to change human rights legislation if they “get in the way” of tackling terror suspects.
Speaking on the BBC’s Newsnight programme, called the Tory leader’s stance “knee-jerk” and branded it an “anti-human rights dog whistle”.
When asked if she thought human rights law was up to the task of tackling terrorism, she said: “We will always listen to whatever the security agencies say that they need.
“But we are confident that we can provide any new powers that are truly necessary and proportionate within the human rights framework.”
Shami Chakrabarti insisted human rights laws did not need to be changed to tackle terrorism
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We are confident that we can provide any new powers that are truly necessary and proportionate within the human rights framework
But presenter Kirsty Wark questioned the “armoury” available to the Government.
“Clearly, something is not working, you agree surely that the atmosphere has changed. These two terror attacks in two weeks, preceded by Westminster – there is a different atmosphere,” she said.
“People want to know that everything in the Government’s armoury is being used, perhaps the armoury isn’t right.”
But Baroness Chakrabarti argued pumping resources into policing is what was necessary to fight terrorism.
Shami Chakrabarti called Theresa May's stance an "anti-human rights dog whistle"
She said: “We are concerned about the armoury and our biggest concern, as you will have heard, is about resources.
“Everything that I’ve heard from the agency themselves in recent weeks suggests that cuts for example in the number of police officers, cuts to the borders agency, austerity, is a potential problem.
“We are committed to making that the priority.”
She then addressed calls for control orders, which gave the Government powers to restrict the freedoms of terror suspects, to be reinstated.
“If there is a need for any new powers to monitor suspects who are not yet able to be charged, we’re convinced that that could be dealt with within the criminal justice system,” she said.
She insisted Jeremy Corbyn would review human rights legislation but remained “convinced” that with “additional resources we can deal with these people within the rule of law”.