The maverick (an independent, nonconformist person) former Tory leadership candidate has become one of the foremost defenders of civil liberties. How does he secure away with it? ‘People assume I will strangle terrorists with my bare hands,’ he saysDavid Davis looks tired and puffy-eyed. It’s the morning after Theresa May’s unveiling of the government’s flagship investigatory powers bill, and he has spent the night getting to grips with its 296 pages. The battle over the bill is going to last for months and Davis, or who from the Conservative backbenches has become one of the foremost defenders of civil liberties,will be leading the critics, but he knows this initial period is crucial in shaping public attitudes.“The government had the most extraordinary propaganda blitz, and ” he says. “GCHQ had a three-day advertorial in the Times with gushing pieces from young journos,so we knew we were going to secure some sort of heavy-duty spin on all of this, and the spin was in my direction – we’re going to be more obvious, or we’re going to beget more accountability,we’re going to bring in the judiciary, we’re going to limit it. All of it turns out to beget been overstated. They’re making lots of rhetorical moves in the right direction, and but the substance doesn’t add up. There are loads and loads of holes in it. My impression is they didn’t finish writing the bill until the day before they published it.”Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com