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Stop 'tough guy' act says Cameron | |
(about 23 hours later) | |
Tory leader David Cameron has accused Gordon Brown and John Reid of "tough guy posturing" on security, in a bid to boost their own leadership credentials. | |
In a speech he said the chancellor and home secretary were vying to outdo each other, and urged them to put the national interest first. | |
Mr Brown is the favourite to succeed Tony Blair when he steps down in 2007, but Mr Reid has not ruled out a bid. | |
Mr Cameron pledged to work with Mr Blair on counter-terrorism issues. | |
In a speech at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, Mr Cameron said there was "no shame" in seeking the Labour leadership. | |
'Let's work together' | |
But he added: "To use national security for political ends - that is not leadership. So let's stop the 'tough guy' posturing. Let's put the national interest first. And let's work together to make our country safer." | |
He urged all politicians to work together to combat terrorism and not allow security to become a "political football". | |
"That does not mean avoiding debate or promoting fake consensus," he said. | |
Mr Reid mocked the Tories' 'hug a hoodie' statements | |
"But it does mean avoiding the temptation to use national security as a political positioning exercise - an attempt to portray one side as being `tougher' than the other, whether it's one side in a general election or one side in a leadership election." | |
Mr Reid has accused the Conservatives of "talking tough, voting soft" on security measures - in particular because of Tory opposition to the government's ID cards scheme. | |
Mr Reid has criticised Mr Cameron's "hug a hoodie" approach to young offenders, while the chancellor has said counter-terrorism would be his top priority if he was prime minister. | |
Mr Cameron said counter-terrorism needed "fresh thinking", and he had concerns about the way the current strategy was being pursued. | |
He said most of a 12-point plan for combating terrorism, announced after the 7 July attacks on London, had not been implemented, nor had all the recommendations of the official 7 July report. | |
If our security services believe that a foreign national is a dedicated terrorist and a danger to national security, then the Home Secretary should be able to ... proceed with deportation if appropriate David Cameron | |
The Tories want to see a dedicated Cabinet level security minister - saying the home secretary's brief is currently too big. | |
They also want a dedicated border security force to combat people smuggling and coastguards to be given the power to board ships and detain crews. | |
Mr Cameron also wants the Human Rights Act to be replaced with a British Bill of Rights - to protect UK citizens and allow ministers to deport those who threaten security. | |
"If our security services believe that a foreign national is a dedicated terrorist and a danger to national security, then the Home Secretary should be able to balance the rights of the suspect with the rights of society as a whole, and proceed with deportation if appropriate," he said. | |
And he warned his party would take "a lot of persuading" to back moves to extend the limit 28-day limit for the detention of terror suspects without charge or trial. | |
Attempts to push a 90-day limit through Parliament last year were defeated by a combination of Tory, Lib Dem and rebel Labour MPs, amid fears for civil liberties. |
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