International Law

Former MI5 Director General Stella Rimington's interview with La Vanguardia

The Daily Telegraph (followed by the rest of the mainstream media and plenty of blog commentators) have reported the comments of the former Director General of MI5 the Security Service, Dame Stella Rimington, about her unease with the the current Labour Government's legislative assault on our civil liberties.

Spy chief: We risk a police state

Dame Stella Rimington, the former head of MI5, has warned that the fear of terrorism is being exploited by the Government to erode civil liberties and risks creating a police state.

By Tom Whitehead, Home Affairs Editor
Last Updated: 10:42PM GMT 16 Feb 2009

[...]

"Since I have retired I feel more at liberty to be against certain decisions of the Government, especially the attempt to pass laws which interfere with people's privacy," Dame Stella said in an interview with a Spanish newspaper.

"It would be better that the Government recognised that there are risks, rather than frightening people in order to be able to pass laws which restrict civil liberties, precisely one of the objects of terrorism: that we live in fear and under a police state," she said.

Dame Stella, 73, added: "The US has gone too far with Guantánamo and the tortures. MI5 does not do that. Furthermore it has achieved the opposite effect: there are more and more suicide terrorists finding a greater justification." She said the British secret services were "no angels" but insisted they did not kill people.

[...]

We like to read original sources and to check evidence for ourselves, so here is a link to the original interview in the Spanish newspaper La Vanguardia, which was published over two weeks ago.

The first part of the interview (omitted below) deals with how realistic spy novels and films are, compared with her real life experience, and with her own successful career as a spy thriller novellist.

Stella Rimington, ex directora de los servicios secretos británicos (MI5) y novelista

"La prensa me calificó deamade casa superespía"

IMA SANCHÍS - 04/02/2009

[...]

¿Alguna vez ha estado en desacuerdo con medidas antiterroristas?

Desde que me he jubilado me siento con mayor libertad para estar en contra de ciertas decisiones del Gobierno, especialmente el intento de aprobar leyes que se inmiscuyen en la intimidad de las personas.

Atrevida.

Sería mejor que el Gobierno reconociera que existen riesgos en lugar de atemorizar a la gente para poder aprobar leyes que restringen las libertades, precisamente uno de los objetivos del terrorismo: que vivamos atemorizados y bajo un Estado policial.

Tras el 11-S, ¿hay servicios secretos de ciertos países que se han extralimitado?

Sí. EE. UU. ha ido demasiado lejos con Guantánamo y las torturas, eso el MI5 no lo hace, y además ha conseguido el efecto contrario: cada vez hay más terroristas suicidas que encuentran una mayor justificación.

¿Cuál ha sido su decisión más difícil?

Muchísimas, pero quizá, al finalizar la guerra fría, decidir si debíamos ayudar a los servicios de inteligencia de los países del Este en la transición democrática o no, porque habían sido nuestros enemigos y además continuaban espiándonos. Los ayudamos.

[..]

You can get an idea of how well the Daily Telegraph translated this via online translation tools, e.g. Babelfish

Full post as published by Spy Blog on February 17, 2009 (boomark / email).