Britain is set to block new European Union civil liberties laws unless they are changed to help the fight against terrorism. The row is over laws which would let immigration authorities and governments have access to potentially vital air passenger records - but only for 24 hours. Home Office minister Caroline Flint, standing in for Home Secretary David Blunkett, will tell the meeting that the time limit was hopeless for security agencies pursuing information in the event of a terrorist atrocity. Equally unacceptable to the UK is a provision restricting access to airline information only to immigration officials - and not to the police. The restrictions are designed to safeguard civil liberties. But the UK says that, in the wake of the need to respond to the terrorist threat, the proposals will make a mockery of counter-terrorism pledges.
During negotiations so far UK officials have added a clause to the provisions stating that member states should be allowed to apply their own national arrangements for data access, as long as they do not conflict with EU data protection rules. That would mean the UK Data Protection Act could apply - allowing the holding of information where necessary for much longer and also making sure it could be passed to the police and not just used by immigration services. But all other member states oppose the idea and want the UK to remove the clause: "We are isolated," explained one official. But the Government will make clear that it will simply block all agreement - the rules require unanimous approval - unless there is much more flexibility to wage the fight against terrorism. |