Internal Security

Part of Oral Answers to Questions — Home Department – in the House of Commons at 2:30 pm on 22 March 2004.

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Photo of David Davis David Davis Shadow Secretary of State (Home Office) 2:30, 22 March 2004

We should recognise that credit is due to MI5, MI6 and the police on their success so far in preventing and deterring the threat that we have faced from al-Qaeda in the past decade. Nevertheless, the comments of the Home Secretary, the Prime Minister, the head of MI5 and Sir John Stevens, the head of the Met, have led people to believe that an attack is inevitable in this country at some point. That makes the comments of Patrick Cunningham that Mr. Heath raised very important. Mr. Cunningham was not just talking about resources. He went on to say that Britain was gripped by "a culture of complacency", and that local authority planners, who are supposed to play a vital role in the aftermath of disaster, are unlikely to be able to

"offer anything other than a token gesture of support".

He is the leader 500 emergency planners. Are they all completely wrong?