New anti-terror powers 'threaten civil liberties'

Civil liberties campaigners have condemned the Home Secretary's new counter-terrorism bill, due to be published today, which they say will threaten civil liberties "by closing down the open society [the government] seeks to promote."

The bill is expected to allow authorities to cancel passports at the border for 30 days, force firms to hand over phone and computer information and require schools and colleges to help prevent people from being radicalised.

The measures will be unveiled a day after an unnamed technology company, widely reported to be Facebook, was accused of failing to pass on information that could have prevented the murder of fusilier Lee Rigby. His killers had outlined their plan in graphic detail on the social media site.

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According to Theresa May, new legislation is necessary to address the "very serious and rapidly changing threats" the UK public faces, the BBC reports.May said: "We are in the middle of a generational struggle against a deadly terrorist ideology. These powers are essential to keep up with the very serious and rapidly changing threats we face. In an open and free society, we can never entirely eliminate the threat from terrorism".She added: "But we must do everything possible in line with our shared values to reduce the risks posed by our enemies. This bill includes a considered, targeted set of proposals that will help to keep us safe at a time of very significant danger by ensuring we have the powers we need to defend ourselves."But the director of human rights organisation Liberty, Shami Chakrabarti, disagreed with the home secretary's assessment. "Yet again, politicians resort to high talk and rushed legislation in an attempt to look tough in the face of terrorism," Chakrabarti said, adding that the new legislation would create "another chilling recipe for injustice and resentment by closing down the open society you seek to promote."May insisted that the new measures are necessary to combat a "struggle on many fronts", revealing that since 2005, 40 plots targeting the London transport network had been disrupted.Teaching unions expressed concern over the provisions within the bill directed at schools and colleges.

"Schools definitely have a role to play, as they protect children they also protect the neighbourhoods they serve but they are not a police service," Russell Hobby, the general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers told The Independent. "A school's main contribution to the cause of anti-extremism is to provide a broad and balanced curriculum in a safe environment where human rights are respected."