Blair faces torrent of criticism on human rights

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Tony Blair remained defiant last night in the face of a torrent of protests over Britain's human rights record, accusing his critics of having "the world the wrong way round". The Prime Minister was under pressure over his support for US " rendition flights", his failure to call openly for the closure of the Guantanamo Bay camp in Cuba, and over draconian anti-terror laws, after damning reports by the Labour-led Commons Foreign Affairs Committee and by Amnesty International. His comments on the state of Iraq came on another day of bloodshed in the country.

He even appeared out of step with his own Attorney General, Lord Goldsmith, who warned his cabinet colleagues that terrorist suspects were entitled to the same legal protections as "law-abiding citizens". Speaking at the London School of Economics, Lord Goldsmith said: " Determining if a particular person is, or is not, a terrorist requires more than mere assertion on the part of an authority, however genuine and well-intentioned that authority may be."

In a combative performance, Mr Blair used his monthly press conference at Downing Street to reject criticism of the Government's attempts to return terror suspects to countries such as Algeria and Egypt which have a record of torturing prisoners. "We hear an immense amount about their human rights and their civil liberties. But there are also human rights of the rest of us to live in safety," he said. Amnesty International called for more guarantees of the safety of suspects before they were deported, and monitoring afterwards. But Mr Blair said: " I think we have got the world the wrong way round. You cannot have a situation where we are expected to keep people in this country without any limit at all, irrespective of the disharmony, disunity and, in some cases, acts of violence that they are inciting."

He added: "I totally understand the issues raised in respect of Guantanamo but the reports of the Foreign Affairs Committee and Amnesty International are far broader and were talking about deportation cases here. I think we have the whole thing upside down. I do not see why we should not be able to deport people from this country, who are not nationals, who have come to this country just to cause trouble." In a scathing report, Amnesty International protested that anti-terrorism legislation had led to a serious erosion of human rights in Britain since 2001. Irene Khan, Amnesty International's secretary general, said: " There is now a dangerous imbalance between draconian actions the UK is taking in the name of security and its obligation to protect human rights. These measures tarnish the UK's image and its ability to promote human rights abroad."

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http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/politics/article347378.ece

[BillZBubb]

1. Scratch the "New Labour" paint off the poodle and you get

an old fashioned fascist. An eager Quisling for our neo-con fanatics.

[greenleaf]

2. ".... tarnish the UK's image and its ability to promote

human rights abroad."

Who are they fooling? No one but them selves.