Councillors ‘horrified’ by new ‘Spy Cop Bill’

The Council agreed by majority to a proposal from Independent Councillor Gary Donnelly to register its opposition and to call on trade unions, civil liberty and advocacy groups to voice their concerns over the British Government’s Covert Human Intelligence Source (Criminal Conduct) Bill, known informally as the Spy Cop Bill.

The Conservative Party bill recently passed its third reading in the House of Commons and has moved on to the House of Lords. The Labour Party abstained from the vote, prompting resignations among some senior party members.

The Bill states that an authorisation to commit crimes by any agent must take into account the requirements of the Human Rights Act. However a proposed amendment from Labour to exclude immunity for murder and violence was defeated.

Colr. Donnelly stated in his motion, tabled at the recent monthly Full Council meeting, that the Bill was “anti-democratic authoritarian Bill that extends the British government’s right to break the law and breach human rights in the name of ‘National Security’.

Speaking to his motion, he added: “This bill will allow state agencies to commit crimes to stay undercover. There is no limit to what crimes they can commit. This can include murder, torture or sexual violence.”

He said that given with the history of this country, including the situation surrounding the killings of human rights lawyers Rosemary Nelson, and Pat Finucane, this was deeply disturbing.

“The PSNI, the British police force in Ireland, 40% of its budget is controlled by British intelligence, this has huge ramifications,” he said, adding: “This will allow British intelligence to target environmental groups, civil rights groups, trade unionists; commit crimes and act with impunity.

Aontú Councillor Anne McCloskey said she watched the recent third reading of the Bill in the House of Commons “with absolute horror”.

“The Tory government put this forward and it passed its reading by 318 votes to 98. The so called opposition in the UK, the largely absent Labour Party, were told to abstain and some of them resigned because of that suggestion.

“Rape, murder, torture and other heinous crimes... the proposed authorisations are not only for protecting national security or for preventing crime but also, and I put this in inverted commas ‘disorder and the interests of the economic well being of the UK’. This is truly horrific and it certainly puts me in very great fear of an absolute totalitarian regime.”

She also pointed out that agencies such as Revenue and even the Food Standards Agency would be allowed to use this legislation.

SDLP Colr. Sean Mooney said Foyle MP Colum Eastwood spoke out against the Bill last month. “There is absolutely no provision for any judicial oversight and the Bill does not rule out any authorisations that could actually relate to actions relating to any cases of murder, torture or violence of all kinds,” he said, adding: “This does not suggest any public confidence that these requested powers will be exercised with care or with any regard to human life provisions that are already in place. This jurisdiction knows only too well the experience of and the use of informants and agents acting outside the law.”

Alliance Councillor Rachael Ferguson said her party too would be supporting the motion and were appalled that the attempt to amend the legislation to exclude murder, torture and rape had failed. “For us, this is just atrocious this went through,” she said.

Opposing the motion, DUP Alderman Graham Warke said the first duty of any government was to protect their citizens from harm. “There is many threats in NI and the rest of the UK on a daily basis, many of which are hidden in the shadows and never reveal themselves until it is too late,” he said, adding: “We also need to consider those we trust to keep us safe and give them the powers, not inhibit them to do what they do.”

Sinn Féin Councillor Paul Fleming said that if the people of England wanted to know about the implications of this Bill, all they had to do what was look to killings and events here since the 1970s which took place “under the auspices of the so-called state agents”.

“Our experience here should reinvigour people to oppose this Bill,” he said, and congratulated all those families that have campaigned for justice for loved ones killed by state sponsored agencies over the years.

People Before Profit Councillor Eamonn McCann said he was surprised and deeply disappointed by the tone of Alderman Warke’s remarks. “It’s got nothing to do with orange and green politics, it is to do with democracy”.

“No matter what your others politics, it seems to me you should be aghast at what is proposed. MI5 and other intelligence agencies have ridden roughshod over the most basic democratic principles in recent times,” he claimed, adding:

“MI5, we often forget, has primacy in policing in Northern Ireland.”

Independent Councillor Paul Gallagher seconded the motion, while Independent Colr. Raymond Barr said the Bill was “an attack on trade unionists, human rights activists, anybody whose face doesn’t fit with the British government.”

The motion passed with 28 voting for it, six against and one abstention.