The secretive world of New Labour has taken a twist in the road again. Today we hear that Sadiq Khan, Labour MP for Tooting may have been bugged whilst he visited a constituent who was in prison. The constituent was one Babar Ahmad, who faces no charges in the UK but is awaiting a decision from the European courts to discover if he will be extradited to the US, on suspicion of running websites raising funds for the Taleban. This is the wonderfully weird world we live in post 9/11. Suspicions count for a lot. Thankfully in the UK we are still able to have trial by jury, although it is being whittled away. However, freedoms are being eroded by deals and treaties to which the British people have had no say.
If Babar Ahmad has done nothing to upset the British authorities, that's OK. If he has done something to upset the US jurisdictions, let them prove it satisfactorily in a court in England for extradition. What exactly the European courts are involved in, I do not know. Perhaps someone could enlighten me?
Bugging an MP whilst dealing with constituency matters is a serious matter. Apparently, David Davis, shadow Home Secretary, wrote to 10 Downing Street in December warning of such an allegation. Gordon Brown's secretariat seem to have lost the letter!
Mr. Khan is the MP representing ALL constituents in Tooting, whether they be on the electoral roll or not. That is the British system. It is outrageous to think that Special Branch thought it a feasible excercise to follow him in order to bug his conversations. Mr. Khan is an MP. He is no more a Muslim MP, than Anne Widdecombe is a Catholic MP or Gordon Brown is a Presbyterian MP. If he was suspected for his religious background as being unable to maintain his oath as sworn on entering Parliament, then let the powers that be say so.
Jack Straw says, "It is completely unacceptable for an interview to be conducted by a MP on a constituent matter or in any other issue to be recorded." Quite so. But Straw's history in similar situations is a bit flaky. He seems always to start from the innocent ignorant's standpoint, hoping for others to flush out the detail.
Let him get to the bottom of this ASAP!
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