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| In First Live Interview, Britain’s MI5 Chief Seeks More Powers to Fight Terrorism | In First Live Interview, Britain’s MI5 Chief Seeks More Powers to Fight Terrorism |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| LONDON — The head of Britain’s domestic intelligence agency, MI5, appealed on Thursday for broader legal powers to deal with advances in technologies and what he described as a more diffuse and serious terrorist threat. | LONDON — The head of Britain’s domestic intelligence agency, MI5, appealed on Thursday for broader legal powers to deal with advances in technologies and what he described as a more diffuse and serious terrorist threat. |
| The appeal has been made before. What was unusual this time is that it was made in the first live media interview ever given by an MI5 director. | The appeal has been made before. What was unusual this time is that it was made in the first live media interview ever given by an MI5 director. |
| The BBC interview, on Radio 4, was more noteworthy for taking place than for what the director, Andrew Parker, actually said. He and counterparts at MI6, the foreign-intelligence service, have broken with tradition before to give public testimony before Parliament and made many of the same points. | The BBC interview, on Radio 4, was more noteworthy for taking place than for what the director, Andrew Parker, actually said. He and counterparts at MI6, the foreign-intelligence service, have broken with tradition before to give public testimony before Parliament and made many of the same points. |
| They emphasize, as Mr. Parker did on Thursday, that the intelligence agencies report to the government and to Parliament, gather information widely but in a targeted fashion, and see their jobs as defending British lives and liberties, not in violating them. | They emphasize, as Mr. Parker did on Thursday, that the intelligence agencies report to the government and to Parliament, gather information widely but in a targeted fashion, and see their jobs as defending British lives and liberties, not in violating them. |
| Mr. Parker said he shared the fears of the F.B.I. director, James B. Comey, about terrorism suspects’ “going dark,” a term that refers to changes in technology that make it more difficult to legally intercept communications and prevent attacks. | Mr. Parker said he shared the fears of the F.B.I. director, James B. Comey, about terrorism suspects’ “going dark,” a term that refers to changes in technology that make it more difficult to legally intercept communications and prevent attacks. |
| He said increasing online data encryption meant that the police and intelligence agencies “can no longer obtain under proper legal warrant the communication of people they believe to be terrorists,” giving suspects a great advantage. | He said increasing online data encryption meant that the police and intelligence agencies “can no longer obtain under proper legal warrant the communication of people they believe to be terrorists,” giving suspects a great advantage. |
| “It’s in nobody’s interests that terrorists should be able to plot and communicate out of the reach of any authority,” Mr. Parker said. “We’re focused on the people who mean us harm. We’re not about browsing through the private lives of the citizens of this country. We do not have population-scale monitoring or anything like that.” | “It’s in nobody’s interests that terrorists should be able to plot and communicate out of the reach of any authority,” Mr. Parker said. “We’re focused on the people who mean us harm. We’re not about browsing through the private lives of the citizens of this country. We do not have population-scale monitoring or anything like that.” |
| He said that the threat level in Britain remained at “severe,” meaning that an attack was “highly likely,” given the chaos in Syria and elsewhere in the Middle East. | He said that the threat level in Britain remained at “severe,” meaning that an attack was “highly likely,” given the chaos in Syria and elsewhere in the Middle East. |
| Mr. Parker repeated his call for social media companies and technology companies, like Apple, Google, Facebook, Twitter and communications providers, to help the intelligence agencies. He said such companies, many of them American, have what he called an ethical responsibility to come forward if they have concerns about their users and any possible involvement in terrorism. | Mr. Parker repeated his call for social media companies and technology companies, like Apple, Google, Facebook, Twitter and communications providers, to help the intelligence agencies. He said such companies, many of them American, have what he called an ethical responsibility to come forward if they have concerns about their users and any possible involvement in terrorism. |
| Terrorist groups, he said, “are using secure apps and Internet communication to try to broadcast their message and incite and direct terrorism amongst people who live here who are prepared to listen.” | Terrorist groups, he said, “are using secure apps and Internet communication to try to broadcast their message and incite and direct terrorism amongst people who live here who are prepared to listen.” |
| The revelations by Edward J. Snowden, the former National Security Agency contractor, of wide-scale electronic surveillance have prompted criticism of the intelligence services and fears that rights to privacy have been subverted in the name of security. | |
| The Conservative government is preparing legislation that is expected to give the police and security officials new powers, and may extend oversight over them to the judiciary. The interview with Mr. Parker seemed partly designed to win public support for the security services’ proposals. | The Conservative government is preparing legislation that is expected to give the police and security officials new powers, and may extend oversight over them to the judiciary. The interview with Mr. Parker seemed partly designed to win public support for the security services’ proposals. |
| It also seemed timed to the release of a new critical report from David Anderson, a government-appointed “independent reviewer of terrorism” laws, warning that separate legislation to ban extremism could provoke a damaging backlash among Muslims. In his annual report, Mr. Anderson, a lawyer who is in his second three-year term in the job, said if the new laws were too widely drawn, they could play into the hands of people trying to encourage extremism and terrorism. | It also seemed timed to the release of a new critical report from David Anderson, a government-appointed “independent reviewer of terrorism” laws, warning that separate legislation to ban extremism could provoke a damaging backlash among Muslims. In his annual report, Mr. Anderson, a lawyer who is in his second three-year term in the job, said if the new laws were too widely drawn, they could play into the hands of people trying to encourage extremism and terrorism. |
| Mr. Parker sought to emphasize that the intelligence agencies would strictly obey any new legislation that Parliament adopts, and refused to give his views on whether he thought an extra layer of judicial oversight was a good thing, claiming that he was neutral on the issue. | Mr. Parker sought to emphasize that the intelligence agencies would strictly obey any new legislation that Parliament adopts, and refused to give his views on whether he thought an extra layer of judicial oversight was a good thing, claiming that he was neutral on the issue. |
| Asked if the wave of migrants coming to Europe had raised security concerns about terrorists possibly traveling among them, Mr. Parker downplayed the threat. “It isn’t actually as we speak today the main focus of where the threat is coming from,” he said. | Asked if the wave of migrants coming to Europe had raised security concerns about terrorists possibly traveling among them, Mr. Parker downplayed the threat. “It isn’t actually as we speak today the main focus of where the threat is coming from,” he said. |