28 June 2006 – Colin Fox MSP (Scottish Socialist Party)
Mr Fox was convenor of the Scottish Socialist Party (SSP) and its justice spokesperson.
He said that the SSP was fully aligned with NO2ID, being included in NO2ID's list of supporting organisations and with all six SSP MSPs having said that they would refuse to register for an ID card.
Mr Fox said that the SSP was proud to support the campaign.
Liberty
He had had direct experience of the government's anti-libertarian measures: he, with three others, had in effect been fined £30,000 and suspended from the Scottish Parliament for a month concerning the right to protest against George Bush's visit last year.
In 600 years of the Westminster parliament, no member had been treated so harshly.
Impact
The ID card would hit the poorest in society. It would change the nature of the relationship between the state and the individual.
It would move towards the presumption of guilt; witness the recent police raid, based on police intelligence, at Forest Gate where 250 police were used to arrest two people, one of whom was shot.
National security
Mr Fox went on to describe the general tenor of politics today. The 7/7 outrages led to the de Menezes shooting, and were used to justify the use of Belmarsh where people are detained indefinitely without charge.
National security was the ace up the government's sleeve. The extradition treaty with the US was not remotely bilateral. Under it people could be extradited from the UK without any evidence being produced, but not vice versa.
It was under this treaty that the "NatWest Three" were likely to be jailed for up to two years in Houston before their trial would start. No evidence had been produced for a British court and if they were found not guilty there would be no compensation.
Production of evidence was a fundamental part of the Scottish system and it was a long standing principle that a person should be released if no evidence were forthcoming within 110 days of being charged.
Individual rights
Mr Fox quoted the famous lines from Pastor Niemöller. It was time to stand against these infringements of individual rights.
First they came for the Jews and I did not speak out because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for the communists and I did not speak out because I was not a communist.
Then they came for the trade unionists and I did not speak out because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for me and there was no one left to speak out for me.
DNA database
He was appalled that it was a Labour MSP who was proposing a national DNA database.
In England the DNA database had increased in size from half a million to three and a half million cases in the past two years with no difference in the crime detection rate.
No fewer than 32% of the three and a half million were black. In Scotland the main emphasis had been on detecting paedophiles.
Climate of fear
Mr Fox mentioned the Michael Moore film "Bowling for Columbine" which was about gun usage in the US. People carried guns because they were frightened.
Again blacks suffered most from the climate of fear but it was generally overlooked that most murders were carried out by persons known to the victim. ID cards again played on people's fears.
In his first two years in the Scottish Parliament he had been much concerned with ASBOs. These were often put on damaged young men.
Counterproductive
The claims for ID cards were unrealistic. They would be counterproductive.
It was not computers that solved crime, it was cooperation on intelligence between communities and the police. Hence the state/individual relationship was important too in this regard.
However, should the police be entitled to know every address one had ever had, every car? The card could have much information recorded that one did not necessarily want others to know.
Protest
The state was not benign - it was there to preserve the status quo. For example Mr Fox had recently been on a protest at Aldermaston where he had been filmed by the police.
The SSP would collaborate in nonviolent protest as for the poll tax.
Noncooperation generally would cause the downfall of the system. The people wanted security and protection and would not tolerate dictatorship. What was wanted was democratic accountability in all aspects of the state.
Discussion
There followed about 40 minutes of wide-ranging discussion. Points raised included:
- The difference from the poll tax was that that onset was sudden; the ID card was an insidious drip, drip.
- The Scottish Parliament had said that they would not require use of the ID card but this seemed to be changing.
- The ID card had been proposed many times; this was the most prescriptive form.
- In England one could be jailed for non-payment of the poll tax; not so in Scotland.
- The bus pass carrying an NHS number was a good example of function creep.
- The treatment of immigrants, for example the attempted deportation of a Thai from Shetland, was another example of draconian treatment of individuals.
- It was important to get the general population engaged in the debate.