This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/uk_politics/7459053.stm

The article has changed 4 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
PM hits back over civil liberties PM hits back over civil liberties
(41 minutes later)
Gordon Brown has defended the use of CCTV, ID cards and the DNA database - saying they protect civil liberties.Gordon Brown has defended the use of CCTV, ID cards and the DNA database - saying they protect civil liberties.
In a speech to the IPPR think tank, the prime minister said they helped ensure people's right to live free from crime.In a speech to the IPPR think tank, the prime minister said they helped ensure people's right to live free from crime.
He also defended 42-day detention, saying the authorities could not afford a "head-in-the-sand" approach to it.He also defended 42-day detention, saying the authorities could not afford a "head-in-the-sand" approach to it.
That was a riposte to Tory David Davis who has quit as an MP and is to fight a by-election on the single issue of the "strangulation" of British freedoms.That was a riposte to Tory David Davis who has quit as an MP and is to fight a by-election on the single issue of the "strangulation" of British freedoms.
Downing Street has denied that the speech was intended as a response to Mr Davis, but would not say if it was planned before the former shadow home secretary stepped down last week.
Labour has not yet confirmed whether it will stand a candidate against him.
'New threats'
In his speech Mr Brown said it was time to write a "new chapter" in Britain's history which would both protect citizens' security and individual liberties.In his speech Mr Brown said it was time to write a "new chapter" in Britain's history which would both protect citizens' security and individual liberties.
He said those people threatening security were ready to use the most up-to-date technology - and the challenge was to use technology to counter that.He said those people threatening security were ready to use the most up-to-date technology - and the challenge was to use technology to counter that.
To say that we should ignore the new demands of security, to assume that the laws and practises which have applied in the past are sufficient always to face the future... that would be the politics of complacency Gordon Brown
"New technology is giving us modern means by which we can discharge these duties, but just as we need to employ these modern means to protect people from new threats, we must at the same time do more to guarantee our liberties," he said."New technology is giving us modern means by which we can discharge these duties, but just as we need to employ these modern means to protect people from new threats, we must at the same time do more to guarantee our liberties," he said.
"Facing these modern challenges, it is our duty to write a new chapter in our country's story - one in which we both protect and promote our security and our liberty, two equally proud traditions.""Facing these modern challenges, it is our duty to write a new chapter in our country's story - one in which we both protect and promote our security and our liberty, two equally proud traditions."
During his speech Mr Brown also announced that he would ask the Information Commissioner to produce a report each year on surveillance in the UK, which would then be debated by MPs.During his speech Mr Brown also announced that he would ask the Information Commissioner to produce a report each year on surveillance in the UK, which would then be debated by MPs.
'Not internment'
On the issue of pre-charge detention limits for terrorist suspects, he said he believed that the Civil Contingencies Act - which some critics say could be used instead of the 42-day limit - would have been potentially more damaging to communities, than the measures he had proposed.
In a question and answer session he said anybody held would have to be arrested, brought before the courts within 48 hours and then every seven days before a judge.
"This is neither preventative detention or internment, this is to deal with a severe terrorist incident but in doing so, at all times, trying to protect the civil liberties of the individual."
He said terrorists wanted to destroy British "freedoms" and that must not be allowed.
"But to say that we should ignore the new demands of security, to assume that the laws and practises which have applied in the past are sufficient always to face the future, to be unwilling to face up to difficult choices and ultimately to neglect the fundamental duty to protect our own security, that would be the politics of complacency," he said.
Mr Davis stunned Westminster last week by saying he was quitting as shadow home secretary and stepping down as an MP to force a by-election in his Haltemprice and Howden constituency.
He said he had decided on the move so he could raise the issue of civil liberties being threatened by measures such as 42 day detention, identity cards, the increasing prevalence of closed circuit television and the growing size of the DNA database.