Published: Thursday, 17th July, 2008 08:30
Martin Salter's Westminster Diary
By Martin Salter, MP for Reading West
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Reading West MP Martin Salter
LAST week saw the ridiculous spectacle of the former Shadow Conservative Home Secretary contesting a by-election in his own constituency, caused by his own resignation following a disagreement with his own leader over the Tories’ approach to the pre-charge detention of terrorist suspects.
In his resignation speech David Davis attacked the number of CCTV cameras in use and the extent of the police DNA database saying: “A CCTV camera for every 14 citizens … a DNA database bigger than that of any dictatorship … this cannot go on. It must be stopped.”
Throughout the run-up to the vote on the Government’s Counter-Terrorism Bill, which gave the police increased powers in exceptional circumstances; David Davis was boasting how he had brought down previous Home Secretaries and was the only person to inflict as parliamentary defeat on Tony Blair.
When the Commons eventually passed the Bill including provision for 42 day detention of terrorist suspects Mr Davis found himself on the losing side – something his massive ego simply couldn’t accept.
Far from triggering a national debate on civil liberties, his fig-leaf of an excuse for the Haltemprice and Howden by-election, David Davis has exposed the Conservatives’ division over crime and policing.
Tory MPs have told me that they simply cannot believe why David Davis now appears to be committing their party to removing CCTV cameras from local communities and reducing the availability of DNA evidence to help the police prosecute rape cases.
Indeed the only good thing about last week’s by-election was the platform it provided for the campaigner and rape victim Jill Saward to challenge the Tories over the use of DNA evidence.
Thanks to David Davis it now looks as if the Conservatives have lost the plot on law, order and security.
They voted against giving the police powers to detain terrorist suspects for longer.
Now they want to cut back on CCTV cameras and the use of DNA evidence which has proved so important in securing convictions against criminals and those who would do us harm.
Over 1000 arrests were made in the Reading area last year thanks to CCTV evidence. CCTV images helped identify the London bombers of July 2005 and helped convict the Brixton nail bomber.
The latest Home Office figures show DNA evidence solving around 450 murders and 650 rape cases a year together with 200 other sex offences and over 8,500 burglaries.
If suspects’ DNA samples had not been retained on the national database as allowed by the Criminal Justice and Police Act (2001) then 8,000 crimes would have in all probability remained unsolved including 114 murders, 55 attempted murders, 116 rapes and 68 other sexual offences.
There is no doubt that CCTV and the use of DNA evidence are vital in the fight against crime, vandalism and anti-social behaviour and I cannot believe that any sensible politician would want the police to be denied the full use of modern and effective crime fighting tools.
Three weeks ago I wrote to my Conservative opposite number challenging him to come clean over where he stands on these issues.
Does he agree with David Davis – and if so, which CCTV cameras in Reading should be removed and which crimes should no longer be solved using DNA evidence? I am still waiting for a reply!
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