UK security chief says civil liberties might have to be "eroded" in anti-terror campaign News
UK security chief says civil liberties might have to be "eroded" in anti-terror campaign

[JURIST] The head of UK security service MI5 [official website] has warned that civil liberties might need to be "eroded" in order to protect the British people from terrorism after the "shock" of the London bombings [JURIST news archive]. Dame Eliza Manningham-Buller [official profile], MI5's director general, made her remarks in a speech [MI5 text] delivered Setember 1 at The Hague on the 60th anniversary of the Dutch security service and recently posted on the MI5 website. Manningham-Buller's words echo those of British Home Secretary Charles Clarke [official website] speaking earlier this week [JURIST report] to his European counterparts. Ex-MI5 agent David Shayler [Guardian special report] is being quoted in the press as disagreeing that civil liberties should be put on the back burner and arguing that liberties lost would make terrorists into "martyrs." BBC News has more.