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Search for Suspect Revises Debate Over Phone Tap Evidence By Jimmy Burns 8/3/05 |
Phone tap evidence obtained by British security services remains unlikely to feature in future trials of terror suspects, despite the tracking of Hamdi Issac, the July 21 attempted bombing suspect.
Police officers in London and Rome followed the signals from a mobile that was being used by Mr. Issac, who is also known as Hussain Osman, as he traveled from the UK through France to Italy.
It is also believed that police were able to
tap into his calls, and even to record his voice for verification. One call was reportedly made to Saudi Arabia.
There is widespread support in parliament for lifting the ban on intercept evidence. But many in the security services are skeptical.
The intelligence and security community has yet to speak with one voice on the issue. David Bickford, a former legal adviser to MI5, the Security Service, and MI6, the Secret Intelligence Service, believes the ongoing objections to the use of such evidence "defy logic" in the current climate.
Mr. Bickford, who works as a security consultant, said the UK was out of step with other countries, including the U.S. and European Union states such as Spain, France, and Germany, where evidence obtained by telephone intercepts has been used to prosecute terrorists.
The House of Lords ruled in 2000 that
telephone intercepts lawfully obtained overseas could be used as evidence in English courts. "The intelligence community abroad looks aghast at our position restricting the use of phone intercepts as evidence. It can't understand it. I find it difficult to find any logical explanation. It just flows from an obsession in certain circles that we have to keep everything secret simply for the sake of secrecy," Mr. Bickford said.
Existing legislation allows the use of evidence obtained by eavesdropping at a target's property, with
secret cameras or
bugging devices. But it draws a distinction for material obtained by security and intelligence agencies from intercepted conversations on a fixed, mobile, or satellite phone. Source: news.ft.com |
