Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn. Benjamin Franklin

Wednesday, October 16, 2013

10 reasons not to trust claims national security is being threatened

Time and again GCHQ and other intelligence agencies have spuriously used 'national security arguments' to suppress information and stifle debate     

By Richard Norton-Taylor and Ian Cobain        

theguardian.com, Wednesday 16 October 2013

Ever since they were set up more than a hundred years ago Britain's security and intelligence agencies have been accused of using the excuse of "national security" to suppress information. Whenever information has been disclosed against their will, through leaks or whistleblowers, they have claimed security has been jeopardised.
Agencies are said to have consistently used this argument to protect themselves from embarrassment and to suppress evidence of information relating to a wide range of subjects, from government waste to involvement in torture.
Ministerial claims that the publication of reports based on NSA and GCHQ documentation undermined national security prompted a scathing response from United Nations experts on freedom of expression and human rights.
"The protection of national security secrets must never be used as an excuse to intimidate the press into silence and backing off from its crucial work in the clarification of human rights violations," the UN special rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression, Frank La Rue, said.

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