Article For Folkestone Herald and Kentish Express

4 August 2005

The progress of the investigations into the terrorist bombings in London – both those that succeeded and those that failed – is so fast moving that there is a real risk that anything I write on Monday is likely to be completely out of date by the time you read it on Thursday. So if what you are about to read has been overtaken by events, please forgive me.

But it does seem right to place on record my admiration for what has, so far, been achieved by the police in tracking down those suspected of being responsible for the events of July 21st. The police certainly deserve to be congratulated on that.

Yet there is no room for complacency. It is highly likely that there are people not known to the police or the Security Service who have the intent, and perhaps the means, to perpetrate further atrocities. So we, the public, as well as the police, need to stay vigilant.

There is, obviously, a continuing responsibility for Government too.

When I met the Prime Minister with Charles Kennedy at Downing Street last week we discussed, in a spirit of co-operation and consensus, the further measures we need.

My party has long pressed for the admission of intercept evidence – telephone conversations, electronic communications – as evidence in the trial of terrorists. We also think there should be a unified border police force – bringing together the various different agencies who share responsibility at the moment for keeping our borders safe.

Both these proposals are being looked at by the Government and I hope that, this time round, they will reach the conclusion that they should be implemented.

Since that meeting other issues have come into focus. The need for embarkation checks, which would allow us to know who is leaving the country, has been reinforced by the fact that one of those suspected of being responsible for the July 21st attacks, was apparently able to get on to a Eurostar train at Waterloo and make his way to Rome. The imposition of those controls is another measure we have long been calling for, along with 24 hour security and surveillance at our ports.

And I continue to believe that our proposal for a Minister for Homeland Security, with nothing else to think about, would strengthen our defences.

We shall continue to put forward proposals which we believe will make it easier to identify the terrorists and apprehend them before they can perpetrate their evil acts. The need for these measures has never been greater.