THE fact that the Data Retention and Investigative Powers Act has been voted through both Houses of Parliament over just three days this week is a travesty ("Emergency data laws spark fury", The Herald, July 16).
David Cameron's justification for the emergency legislation is events in Iraq and Syria and the threat from criminals and terrorists targeting the UK.
This is entirely bogus. The debacle in the Middle East is a direct result of the policies pursued by the Coalition and previous Labour governments. Before the invasion of Iraq and the bolstering of the anti-regime forces in Syria by Washington and London there was no terrorist threat emanating from these countries. Moreover, the western powers have been actively aiding and supplying opposition forces in Syria as part of their goal of regime change.
Mr Cameron has given no evidence for his assertion that the measures are necessary in the fight against terrorism, because there is none. Once again, the so-called "war on terror" is being employed to abrogate civil liberties and strengthen the repressive powers of the state.
Alan Hinnrichs,
2 Gillespie Terrace,
Dundee.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article