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Labour MPs stage revolt

Hasan Suroor

Move to defeat new anti-terror law

LONDON: In a direct challenge to British Prime Minister Tony Blair's political authority, Labour MPs have threatened to defeat the Government's new anti-terror legislation which, they say, is so sweeping that potentially it can be used to prosecute Mr. Blair's own wife, Cherie, for her sympathetic remarks about Palestinian "suicide bombers''.

Mr. Blair faced a virtual revolt from party backbenchers who joined the Opposition to vote against the legislation when it came up for a second reading in the Commons on Wednesday.

It escaped defeat by just one vote after the Home Office Minister Hazel Blears promised to tighten up the language, but MPs made clear that they would continue to resist its passage until it was suitably amended. The provision to which MPs took strong exception relates to actions, including speeches and writings, that might be perceived as amounting to "glorification'' of acts of terror.

They denounced it as an attack on free speech arguing that such a law could be used to prosecute people even for speaking out in support of legitimate political struggles such as those being waged by Palestinians.

One senior Labour MP, Bob Marshall- Andrews, recalled Mrs. Blair's remarks that she "understood'' why Palestinians were driven to violence, and said that under the proposed law even such comments could be construed as "glorification'' of violence.

Another Labour MP Alan Simpson said the bill in its present form was so "draconian'' that it could well have been "drafted for us by Al-Qaeda''.

"We are doing what Al-Qaeda sought to do by other means and we will not be thanked by society for it,'' he said.

Ms. Blears admitted that there were "legitimate concerns'' over the issue and promised to "discuss'' it further, though she justified the need for a law against inciting terrorism.

The revolt, led by the party's Left-wing MPs, came barely hours after Mr. Blair lost one of his most loyal ministers with the resignation of David Blunkett over allegations of breaking the code of conduct.

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