House of Commons Hansard Debates for 31 Jan 1997 (pt 9)

11.35 am

Mr. Piers Merchant (Beckenham): Terrorism is a scourge in the last part of the 20th century. It has caused misery and tragedy throughout the globe. Thousands of people have been killed, maimed or horribly injured as a result of the activities of terrorists. So many grieving mothers and distraught widows show that assertion to be correct. One of the worst aspects of terrorism is that the victims are normally entirely innocent. Children, tourists and shoppers, for example, are caught by the turmoil of violence that is exercised by people with whom they probably have nothing in common; they have no knowledge of and no involvement with such people.

It is incumbent on us to give no quarter to terrorism, nor to the financiers, planners and advocates of terrorism. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Eastbourne (Mr. Waterson) on his Bill, which will take us another step in the right direction. It is not a minor measure. Indeed, in my view, it is a Bill of some significance. I congratulate my hon. Friend on his mastery of the subject and on bringing the measure before the House.

Pressure on us to act has come from a number of quarters, including the international community. The Bill will ensure greater international co-operation in the efforts that are made against terrorism.

It is perhaps ironic that while the world took too long to come together internationally to deal with the problems of worldwide terrorism, and while the United Kingdom was a leader in advocating that international action should be taken, the UK faced criticisms from some countries that we were slow to act against terrorism. That was because it was felt that we were not taking a firm enough line. There have been criticisms from countries as diverse as France, Algeria, Egypt and the United States over the past couple of years. It is felt that we have allowed others to use third parties in our country as a base for the prosecution of terrorist acts elsewhere.

I am glad that the Government responded quickly to those concerns, both by their leading role in the G7 Cairo summit on terrorism and in pursuing action through the United Nations to make a firm declaration on terrorism, which alters the implications of the UN conventions on asylum seekers and refugees and allows us to take action that perhaps would have been impossible before under treaty. The Bill is another important and welcome step in tackling the problem of terrorists using other countries to pursue their violence elsewhere in the world.

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Activities that can be carried out in countries such as the United Kingdom have been referred to in the press. I shall quote from an article that appeared in The Observer in March 1996. It stated that followers of Hamas, and especially one of the leaders of an organisation called al-Muhajiroun, claimed that there were

"secret organisations to tap funds and recruit fighters for 'international brigades' . . . already well established in Britain, and one of his party's principal aims was to garner further support."

That gives us an idea of what is happening in this country.

The Times in October 1995 referred to pamphlets in Arabic that were circulating in London mosques, which apparently said:

"Hold a stone, trigger a bomb, plant a mine, hijack a plane, do not ask how . . . Do something to prove that on your shoulders there stands a head, not a piece of cheese. The times of kidnapping are not over yet, do something."

That is the sort of incitement and encouragement put out by organisations and ruthless extremists that use Britain as a base for their terrorist activities.

Mr. Donald Anderson: I do not think that such a pamphlet, although very wrong, would come within the ambit of the Bill, because no substantive offence would have been committed in an overseas country. It is a general exhortation.

Mr. Merchant: I do not want to descend to the specific, but I do not think that the hon. Gentleman is precisely correct. I can envisage circumstances in which such statements may be held to be an incitement, especially if they were sent to organisations abroad that are linked to acts of terrorism. But I was not advancing that argument; I was merely trying to show the groups that existed in this country at that time and what their motivations were, because that is a problem that should be pursued.

We know of organisations in the world that have a fairly sophisticated international tentacle of sub-organisations. I do not want to be specific, but I refer, for example, to some of the well-known extremist middle east groups that attract a great deal of publicity. Some of those groups are the Nazi organisations of the modern age. They bear a remarkable similarity to the Nazis: they are violently anti-Semitic, both in word and deed, they worship violence, and they are highly nationalistic and extremist in word and deed. Their activities in this country should be eradicated as part of a worldwide attempt to prevent the growth of that type of extremism and the acts that it engenders.

It is not just international concern that informs the Bill and the thinking behind it. There is also genuine and deep concern in this country among our constituents. I have received a number of letters in the past few years that have expressed outrage that foreign extremists are allowed to enter Britain and use this country as a base for continuing their extremist activity. I have sympathy with the people who express those concerns. Many go further and suggest that, although we have always been a haven for people who are fleeing persecution--they may feel that we have already done our fair share of dealing with that problem worldwide, but do not object to Britain continuing to harbour those people--a condition of coming into Britain should be that they should not engage in the political activity that led them to get into difficulties

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in the first place. I am not pursuing that line, but I merely suggest that some people take a rigorous view of the political activities of foreign nationals in Britain.

I think that most people agree that the risks posed to our citizens by the advocacy of violence of such people are real and tangible. My constituency is near London, and many of my constituents travel to the centre of the capital to go to work. They are exposed to terrorist activity in London. It is interesting that of the 35 incidents of terrorist activity in this country in the past 10 years, 33 were in London. I am referring to third-party terrorists--not Irish terrorism or terrorism aimed against Britain or the British Government or involving a British political element, but Arab terrorists, terrorism against other Arabs, or anti-Government elements connected with Turkey who take violent action against a Turkish presence here, such as Turkish Airlines. That shows the particular risk to which Londoners are exposed.

Such activities can be prosecuted under existing law, but the new Bill is relevant, because the presence of people in this country who conspire and incite must attract direct violence. Whoever they are conspiring against will be sorely tempted to take the terrorist war to their planning headquarters, which may happen to be in Britain. Reprisal action may be taken against them by some other force outside this country, thus generating extra violence here.

There will also be a temptation for the planners and inciters, rather than to carry out a complex terrorist operation in some other country, to do it against that country's assets or representatives in this country. It may be easier for them to organise that. Once they have a planning base here, they will be tempted to carry out violence here. It seems much more sensible to nip that problem in the bud, and to deter, prevent and, if necessary, take action against them at an earlier stage, before it ever comes to that. That is a very real way in which our citizens can be drawn in, and it is a secondary, although important, reason for taking firm action.

Why are those people here in the first place? That question is examined in some detail in the most impressive report produced by Lord Lloyd, "Inquiry Into Legislation Against Terrorism": I refer particularly to chapter 12. It deals with supporters of terrorism overseas, and it is significant that the main conclusion of that part of the report is that such a Bill should be introduced. It is good that my hon. Friend the Member for Eastbourne has reflected so accurately what Lord Lloyd recommended in his detailed report.

The report deals with two other aspects of the problem. They are worth considering for a moment, because they lie alongside the Bill. The first is the concept of exclusion: the ability of the Home Secretary under present law to prevent a person entering Britain if his presence is not conducive to the public good. That is an important legal right that should be firmly maintained and used whenever necessary. I strongly oppose those who argue against that right. I am glad that Lord Lloyd says quite clearly that he feels that there is no need to change that right, by which I take it that he means that there is no need to water it down, as some have argued over the years.

Allied with that point is a similar legal mechanism involving deportation whereby my right hon. and learned Friend the Home Secretary can, for similar reasons, deport a foreign national. It can be argued that in certain

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circumstances, that is the best course of action. If, for example, the information gained about the person concerned is sensitive in an intelligence sense and it would not be in the interests of the country to pursue the matter through the courts of law--where there might be long exposure of the reasons for deportation and the sources of information--it is preferable for the Home Secretary to exercise his right and for the person concerned to be deported.