LibDem and UKIP MEPs put Europe at risk of criminals and terrorists
Posted,4/24/2013 1:00:00 PM
Terrorists, serious criminals and people traffickerscould be much harder to track after a major counter-terror agreement championedby the British government collapsed when Liberal Democrat and UKIP MEPs failedto turn up to the vote. The proposals for a 'Passenger Name Records' agreementwithin the EU would put in place a strong framework within which passenger datacould be exchanged safely and securely. They are being taken through theparliament by Timothy Kirkhope MEP, Conservative home affairs spokesman and aformer Home Office Minister. However, a negative vote in the EuropeanParliament's Justice and Home Affairs committee means that the proposals couldnow be in jeopardy. Despite previously supporting the proposals, LibDem MEPSarah Ludford said she did not wish to upset her wider political group in theparliament by supporting her government - so she walked out at the start of thevote. UKIP MEP Gerard Batten continued his pattern of failing to turn up tomost votes in the committee, despite often commenting on their importance in theBritish media. The failed vote means that up to 16 EU countries willstill collect passenger data, but with completely different rules and proceduresin place for handling and storing it, and no ability to share it when tacklingcross-border offenders. Not only could this hamper cross-border criminaldetection, it could also put at risk the security of passengers'data. Ironically, the European Parliament has passed similaragreements with the USA and Canada - meaning that passenger information canreadily be passed to them, but not to other EU Member States. Similar national PNR systems have made significantcontributions to 95 percent of Belgian drugs seizures, the seizure of 279kg ofcocaine in Sweden, the arrest of many terrorist suspects including one of theplotters behind the Mumbai attacks. In the UK alone it has helped to catch 57murderers, 175 rapists, 25 kidnappers, 397 drug offenders and 920 violentcriminals. Following the vote, Mr Kirkhope accused LibDem and UKIPMEPs of betraying British interests in the EU. He said: "A Lib Dem MEP walked out of the vote throughfear of upsetting her colleagues, and UKIP continued their policy of being boneidle. We could have won this vote if it were not for their laziness andspinelessness. "This agreement would have enabled us to trackterrorists, people traffickers and other serious criminals and it would put inplace strong protections for passenger data. Now we will have a weakened abilityto track terrorists, and the safety of passenger data can not be ensured. "The data that will be exchanged is very rudimentarysuch as name and destination. Under no circumstances could it be used forpassenger profiling based on religion or ethnicity. Most people give moreinformation on their Tesco clubcard than would be exchanged between nationalgovernments. "16 EU countries have said they will put in place anational PNR system but their effectiveness and safeguards will be far less thanif we had an EU system. The only winners from this vote are the terrorists,serious criminals and people traffickers. "MEPs have put ideological dogma before a practical andsensible measure that would have seriously assisted our fight against crime andterror. Too often, MEPs are rejecting these agreements just to assert theirindependence from the national governments who support them. "The few national systems that have been created so farhave been incredibly beneficial to our fight against crime and terror. The valueof PNR data is beyond doubt and this vote could undermine our security."
|
Kirkhope: Consistent approach will drive down montrous trade in human life
Posted,4/16/2013 3:00:00 PM
Senior Conservative MEP Timothy Kirkhope today calledon all EU countries to adopt a serious and consistent approach to tackling humantrafficking after a new study showed thecrime increasing while convictions fell.
|
Senior MEP urges: Make sure online child abuse is reported
Posted,3/18/2013 4:00:00 PM
Today theInternet Watch Foundation launched its Annual Report, which revealed child sexual abuse content as a top onlineconcern.
|
Fight against hatred must keep on
Posted,3/12/2013 4:00:00 PM
Yorkshire Conservative MEP Timothy Kirkhope today called upon the European Union to carry on campaigning in the fight against racism, xenophobia and hate crimes.
|
Vital battle against cybercrime stepped up
Posted,2/7/2013 12:00:00 PM
A package of measures to tackle the growing problem of cybercrime across Europe was welcomed today by senior Conservative MEP Timothy Kirkhope.
|