A letter from 15 Liberal Democrat MPs expressing concern at the Coalition's plans will appear in tomorrow's Guardian. It stops short of an outright condemnation at any extension of snooping, but it more encouraging than any we have heard from the leadership so far:
It is absolutely vital that the public get a chance to see and debate the details of any proposals to extend state surveillance, not just being presented with a Home Office fait accompli. It is also essential that the initial plans include adequate safeguards – which should be stronger than the current weak controls.
Liberal Democrats in government will not follow the last Labour government by sounding the retreat on the protection of civil liberties in the United Kingdom. It continues to be essential that our civil liberties are safeguarded, and that the state is not given the powers to snoop on its citizens at will.
The MPs who have signed the letter are:
- Julian Huppert
- Annette Brooke
- Malcolm Bruce
- Mike Crockart
- Andrew George
- Mike Hancock
- John Leech
- Greg Mulholland
- John Pugh
- Alan Reid
- Adrian Sanders
- Ian Swales
- David Ward
- Mark Williams
- Roger Williams
John Hemming has posted elsewhere that he also signed the letter, but probably too late for the fact to appear in the paper. I believe there are two other LibDem MPs in the same position.
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