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Terrorism and Community Relations

I congratulate the right hon. Member for Southampton, Itchen (Mr. Denham), the Chairman of the Select Committee on Home Affairs, on securing this important debate. I agree with the hon. Member for Keighley (Mrs. Cryer) about the quality of today's contributions. The quality of the main debate yesterday in the House about the Terrorism Bill was similar, and it was carried out in an appropriate tone. This debate could not be any more timely. The report may well have been published before 7 July and 12 July, the date on which we came to the realisation of the significance of the events of 7 July. We would all agree that the recommendations are even more pertinent in the current environment. I spoke yesterday in the main debate in the House, so I will not reiterate the points I made. I echo the hon. Member for Aylesbury (Mr. Lidington); I am pleased to speak both on behalf of my party and because of my personal experience from my constituency where a community is still dealing with the fact that the London bombs were made there by local lads. That is something we will take a long time to come to terms with. Less in response to the Committee's recommendations, but inevitably and rightly, the Government are seeking to engage with multi-faith and, specifically, Muslim communities in places such as Leeds, Keighley and Aylesbury. I take this opportunity to thank the Minister for her kind invitation to attend the meeting in Leeds. Alas, after the events of the summer, I was only at that time finally able to take a family holiday, or I would certainly have attended what I believe was a successful occasion. Despite that positive work, the Government have not made the link, which is obvious to me and my party, between terrorism in the community and the raft of Home Office legislation that they are publishing. If ever there were a time for joined-up thinking, it is surely now, and I hope that this important debate will contribute to the process. As I said yesterday, there is a real need for the Government to acknowledge and accept that there is real fear and mistrust in communities such as those in Hyde Park and Beeston in Leeds. It is precisely those feelings that will make it more difficult for us all to move forward to a situation in which we feel that events such as those of 7 July are less likely. We must tackle all the issues involved; we cannot separate them. Many, including stop and search, are mentioned in the report, which was published before 7 July. However, other issues are regularly raised with me, such as the power to close mosques and the threat of deportation to countries that still practise torture, whatever guarantees might be given. There is also a real feeling that there is a threat to free speech and valid debate about Palestine, Chechnya and, of course, Iraq. Given my experience in local communities, I cannot mention Iraq without saying that the Government must acknowledge the truth about the damage that the Iraqi conflict has done in such communities. Can we all at least admit the simple reality that the disastrous conflict in Iraq has made it more likely that citizens from our own Muslim community will turn to terrorism?