Newsgroup: it.politica.internazionale
Titolo: Londra: Anti-terrorism head calls for radical changes (Reuters)

L'articolo spiega bene alcuni dei dilemmi che il governo britannico si 
trova a fronteggiare, IMHO.
Am.
Anti-terrorism head calls for radical changes
 LONDON (Reuters) - The country's anti-terrorism chief said on Thursday 
radical reforms were needed to tackle the al Qaeda threat and that it 
was "hopelessly optimistic" to think authorities would stamp out the 
danger in the next 10 years.
 Peter Clarke, head of the anti-terrorist branch, said fundamental 
changes had to be made into the investigation and prosecution of 
terrorism cases.
 The country needed a new national counter-terrorism structure, he said 
and called for changes to trials to allow jurors to hear evidence which 
currently courts rule to be too prejudicial.
 Clarke's comments come after the government won key votes on two 
controversial security bills this week, one which toughened up existing 
security measures and another which brought in national identity cards.
 Speaking at a conference at London's Royal United Services Institute, 
Clarke said police were still learning about the nature of the al Qaeda 
threat and how to deal with it.
 Asked whether police would be in a position to counter the threat 
within five to 10 years, he said that was "hopelessly optimistic."
 "I only wish that could be the case but I very much doubt it," he told 
the conference, adding it was thought Osama bin Laden's organisation 
had a 50-year strategy in place.
 The threat to the country was graphically demonstrated last July when 
four suicide bombers killed 52 commuters on London's transport system. 
Two weeks later police say four other suspects attempted to repeat the 
attack but their bombs failed to go off.
 There were now 60 defendants awaiting trial for suspected terrorism 
offences in Britain, a number Clarke described as "unprecedented".
 Consequently, Britain needed a new central hub for dealing with 
counter-terrorism as currently only London had the necessary resources.
 "The events of last July showed this is no longer appropriate," he 
said. "We need some form of national structure which still draws on the 
traditional local links."
 CIVIL LIBERTIES
 Much of the recent heated debate in the country has focussed on 
whether new powers sought by the government infringed civil liberties 
and would alienate the Muslim community, which critics say would be 
counter-productive.
 It has also seen terrorism, an issue on which parties traditionally 
work together, becoming a major political issue.
 Describing himself as a "human rights policeman", Clarke said no one 
could claim the "monopoly on wisdom".
 "What we must do is avoid policies and procedures that in themselves 
generate distrust," he said. "It is nothing to do with appeasing 
extremists or political correctness."
 Problems often arose, he said, because tight legal restrictions meant 
the public had to be kept in the dark.
 "Much of the debate and comment about counter terrorism has been 
skewed or lacking in detail because of the length of time it takes 
cases to reach trial," he said.
 He cited the dramatic 2003 raid on London's Finsbury Park Mosque, 
which had been a focal point for extremists not just in Britain but 
across Europe and beyond.
 It was only after radical cleric Abu Hamza al-Masri was jailed this 
month for inciting his followers at the mosque to commit murder that 
police could reveal they had found evidence of possible militant 
training camps in Britain.
 Clarke also said jurors should be trusted more.
 "I have a difficulty around the degree of information we allow jurors 
to hear," he said. "There is a real question here about to what extent 
in this day and age we should trust juries to judge the truly probative 
from the prejudicial."

 trova a fronteggiare, IMHO.
ROTFL e chi se ne fotte? Tanto lo sanno tutti che la prossima è l'Italia e
sarà una cosa da far impallidire l'11 settembre, la GB il suo avvertimento
lo ha avuto al prossimo giro rischia grossissimo ma per ora può stare
tranquilla.