• Innocent people ‘targeted’ in intelligence swoops
• Information gathered includes sexual activities
- Vikram Dodd
- guardian.co.uk, Sunday 18 October 2009 22.10 BST
A powerful committee of MPs is likely to hold a formal hearing into allegations that a government anti-extremism programme is being used to gather information on innocent Muslims.
The home affairs select committee meets on Tuesday and will discuss widening its inquiry into the £140m Preventing Violent Extremism scheme, also known as Prevent.
The hearing follows a Guardian investigation that revealed allegations that the programme, whose public aim is to prevent Muslims from being lured into violent extremism, is being used to gather intelligence about innocent people not suspected of involvement in terrorism.
Information the authorities are trying to ascertain includes political and religious views, information on mental health and sexual activity and associates, according to documents seen by the Guardian. Other documents reveal that the intelligence and information could be stored until the people concerned reach the age of 100.
The all-party committee of MPs will consider offering private evidence sessions for whistleblowers and those who believe they were affected.
Some of those making the accusations, including people involved in running Prevent-funded projects, fear losing their jobs or reprisals for speaking out.
In a further move, the civil rights group Liberty is examining the prospect of suing the government over the scheme because it may breach a guarantee of a right to privacy in the Human Rights Act.
A leading counter-terrorism expert said the scheme was trying to brand non-violent Muslims as “subversives”, which if maintained would lead to the Prevent scheme backfiring.
The government denies that Prevent involves spying on the innocent.
Keith Vaz, a Labour MP and chairman of the home affairs committee said: “We will be inquiring into these allegations. It’s very important this engagement takes place, but that does not mean innocent people are targeted. In the end that would be counter-productive.
“We have the power to offer private sessions to those who wish to bring to parliament’s attention issues concerning Prevent and its alleged gathering of sensitive information on the innocent.”
Reacting to the investigation, Shami Chakrabarti, director of Liberty, called Prevent the biggest spying programme in Britain in modern times and an affront to civil liberties.
She said today the group would consider suing if whistleblowers came forward, which they could do confidentially.
Chakrabarti said: “We’re inviting people who feel they may have been affected to come forward to us, and we will consider litigation,” she said. “We also invite anyone who has been working on these projects and has concerns.”
Prevent is a cross-department programme, run by the Office for Security and Counter-Terrorism. Its head, Charles Farr, is a former senior intelligence officer. He was reported to be the choice of some of his peers to be the next head of MI6, but lost out to Sir John Sawers.
A former Scotland Yard counterterrorism officer has warned the government about its tactics.
Robert Lambert headed a special branch unit countering extremism by working with Muslims whose views the government disliked. His Muslim Contact Unit gained respect from arch-critics of the police.
Lambert said: “Not only is it morally reprehensible to treat law-abiding Muslim citizens as a subversive threat, it is also hugely counter-productive.
“If ministers continue … they will begin to jeopardise social cohesion as well as effective and legitimate counter-terrorism in the UK.”
Chris Huhne, the Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman, said: “Prevent must not become an intrusive spying programme that destroys relationships within the Muslim community and between Muslims and the rest of society.
“Combating radical Islamist ideas is one thing; gathering and keeping intelligence on the innocent is another.”
vikram.dodd@guardian.co.uk
Source: www.guardian.co.uk, 18 Oct 2009