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National Security Strategy

My Lords, I too thank the noble Lord, Lord King, for giving us the opportunity to hold this debate. I am very much an amateur or lay person in this area, but I do not apologise for taking part because in a representative democracy the Executive cannot rely on, "If you knew what I know". It is entirely obvious that there should be a strategy and tactics, but they are not the same as policy, as the noble Baroness, Lady Manningham-Buller, said. I want to talk about just a few of the attributes of a strategy. It should be owned by all who need to implement it, and they are more than the MoD, the Treasury, central government and the agencies of central government. That raises issues because anything cross-departmental seems to highlight the different cultures of government in their different guises. There are differences in the levels of government and differences from those outside government who need to work as partners—and I have no doubt that the international dimension adds to the problems. Government departments speak different languages from one another and from their agencies such as the police, fire and rescue services, which in turn differ from each other and from local government, as well as from the private sector—which owns so much of the infrastructure that has to be protected—and, indeed, from individual citizens. The most basic requirement of any strategy is that it is joined up, and I agree with the need for political consensus as far as possible in that. The language is important both in talking the talk, as the noble Lord said, and in walking the walk. To talk of the "war on terror" seems to me in itself to be a concession to the terrorist. I am not sure about the "battle for ideas". Terrorism as a threat, a crime and a tragedy is not comparable to, say, the Second World War, and on a daily basis road traffic accidents are more deadly, but terrorism causes more anxiety. Perhaps that is because in a fast-moving media age, we watch its results from our own living rooms. We did that on 9/11 and 7/7, on which occasion the ordinary—the bus in Tavistock Square looking at first glance like an open-top tourist bus—had become terrifying. In my view, the media should also be partners in the strategy. You might say that they have only a tactical role, but I think they have more because it is to the media that the public turn. The strategy should recognise how people may behave in different crisis situations, and I do not know what might be done with our technology in 2010, but certainly in July 2005 the load on the mobile phone networks was immense. That was important because in part they were being used operationally. The load would have been reduced if the media—as a partner in responding—had broadcast, for instance, requests to use landlines or to text. Broadcasters and viewers were hungry for information and footage. A pretty good media centre was set up, but not enough up-to-date footage was available. Old footage was repeated again and again without a timeline, so it was not clear whether the advice being given was up to date, and confusion arose from this. If the media had been in a partnership role, the problem might have been anticipated and avoided. I said that our language should not play to the terrorists’ agenda, and taking measures without looking at the broader consequences is also a concession to terrorism. Central to all this—as the noble Lords, Lord Bew and Lord Cope, mentioned in particular—is to ensure that we are not led into the erosion of the liberties and freedoms that we seek to protect. To take a deliberately extreme example, it is perhaps superficially attractive to say that the torture of individuals may be for the greatest good of the greatest number but, at a practical level, as we have seen over the centuries, it is a very effective recruiting officer—and at what cost to the liberties of every individual if torture becomes acceptable? We lose the moral high ground and we lose standing in the battle of ideas. The same applies to detention without charge. Internment in Northern Ireland in the 1970s itself triggered violence. Trust between the community and the security services was destroyed and the chance of winning hearts and minds was lost. Seeing things from the point of view of individuals affects planning. I was a member of the London Assembly part of the Greater London Authority which reviewed what happened on 7/7. Our focus was communications and we expected to concentrate on technical matters. However, our review became as much about the people as the technical. We met passengers from the trains and the bus. This impressed on me not only the extraordinary things that some people are capable of but that strategists and planners have to put themselves in the minds of those affected. The responder’s own response needs the personal dimension. One example is communications. On that day, the tube passengers caught in carriages which were not bombed were literally in the dark; they did not know whether the train might catch fire, whether to open the doors and so on. Through understanding the difficulties that causes, the problem has been acted on. I dare say some of your Lordships have been on tube trains which have stopped unexpectedly and the driver has immediately made an announcement. Even if it is only to say, "I do not know why we have stopped", the passengers know they are not abandoned. Similarly, we are good at setting up emergency centres but do we take into account that most of us are used to looking after ourselves and feel anxious if we cannot take our own decisions? The process for someone at an emergency centre without his normal medication is that a doctor or a nurse dispenses it. However, if you are, say, a diabetic and used to managing your own condition, this is quite disabling. We all like to be reassured that someone is in charge. I pay tribute to the work of many local authorities which have coped with emergencies. Carl Minns, the leader of Hull, which suffered appalling floods in 2007, said that the council was able to show strong community leadership, providing a voice for the local community and taking the pressure off the emergency services so that they could concentrate on operational matters—and, of course, local knowledge helps to identify those most at risk. So plan for people; make the processes fit the people, not the other way round. In evidence to the London Assembly, Tim O’Toole, then managing director of London Underground, made this point: ""Invest in your staff, and rely on them. Invest in technology, but do not rely on it"." I finish by reiterating an earlier point: of course Liberal Democrats want to bring to justice those who threaten or breach our security, but not by becoming what we are fighting. We support measures to make us safer, not less free.