Terrorist Attacks (Paris)

Part of Oral Answers to Questions — Prime Minister – in the House of Commons at 12:43 pm on 14 January 2015.

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Photo of Theresa May Theresa May The Secretary of State for the Home Department 12:43, 14 January 2015

I say to my hon. Friend that we are determined that, as far as is possible, there should be no safe spaces for terrorists to communicate. The Prime Minister reiterated that principle in Prime Minister’s questions today. I would have hoped that that principle was held by everybody across all parties in the House of Commons. As far as I and the Conservative party are concerned, our manifesto will make it clear that we will introduce the legislation that is needed to restore our declining communications data capability, and that we will use all the legal powers that are available to ensure that, where appropriate, the police and the security and intelligence agencies have the maximum ability to intercept the communications of suspects, while ensuring that such intrusive techniques are, of course, properly overseen.

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William Heath
Posted on 15 Jan 2015 9:39 am (Report this annotation)

This *does not* answer the question.

But it does introduce the weasel words "as far as is possible" and "where appropriate" which allow for the entirety of secure online dealing including commerce to escape from this dead-end proposal.

And it does lay out the pre-election lines on which this conversation will be carried on (it wd be unfair and non-PC to call it "this dialogue of the deaf" but there will be more than a hint of that).