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Going about your business as the specter of terror looms

THE OBSERVER, LONDON
Tuesday, Jul 26, 2005, Page 9

`Words of comfort are no substitute for facts, and the government, police and security services have an obligation to deal honestly and openly with the public.'

For Londoners, there is relief, but little comfort in the knowledge that a terrorist plot replicating the atrocity of July 7 failed last week. Sharm el-Sheik was not so lucky. Indiscriminate murder was brought to the Egyptian port as easily as it might have returned to London. It reminds us that any city or resort in any country can be a target for terrorist atrocities at any time. It also reminds us that, ultimately, the war on terror must be an international effort.

A sustained campaign of violence in one city, if that is what we are now facing, feels different from a one-off attack. The call to go about our business as usual issued by the prime minister on Thursday may have calmed nerves at the time.

But such exhortations to behave as usual may ring hollow to those whose travel and work regimes leave them most affected by the lengthening shadow of terror.

We cannot, must not, live our lives expecting the worst, but neither can we ignore the undercurrent of anxiety flowing through the capital.

This is not just an issue for our own peace of mind. For the UK to be seen worldwide as a likely terrorist target brings significant economic risk. Growth, according to official figures published last week, is already at its lowest point in a decade and consumer confidence has stalled. The millions of foreigners who bring their money to the UK's high streets, service industries and financial markets need more than stiff-upper-lip rhetoric and evocations of the Blitz to reassure them.

Words of comfort are no substitute for facts, and the government, police and security services have an obligation to deal honestly and openly with the public. There will be times when operational matters prohibit the disclosure of information. But that possibility must not be extrapolated into a culture of secrecy.

Panic, a principal goal of the terrorists, spreads more effectively in an information vacuum. A culture of openness will encourage greater public co-operation and trust.

The incident on Friday in which a man was shot dead at close range in an Underground station is a good place to start. No one doubts that the police are under severe pressure and at great personal risk as they track down would-be suicide bombers in our midst. So they have nothing to fear in disclosing to a supportive public what happened at Stockwell in south London and in what circumstances armed police are licensed to use weapons. If the menace threatening the police, and us, necessitates shooting without warning, we are entitled to know the rules under which they are operating.

The debate about the practical measures needed to make us more secure without compromising the freedom we enjoy in public spaces and in private communications has been going on since Sept. 11, 2001.

It will now become more heated. But certainly we must expect and accept a more visible police presence, particularly at transport facilities. We may need to investigate the practicality of screening those using public transport or visiting public buildings.

Security services and police are certain to require more resources very soon. We may need to concede them greater powers. But in exchange, the security establishment must concede greater accountability.

Government should not fear an inquiry into the intelligence effort in the months preceding the London bombings. A detailed report of the events themselves, after the model of the US investigation into Sept. 11, would instill confidence. If there is under-resourcing, we need to know and to correct it.

If resources are wrongly focused we need to know that, too. This implies no criticism of the government or emergency services. But placing a full account of the events in the public domain is simply the best way of helping all of us -- government, intelligence and emergency services and citizens -- understand the delicate balance we are trying to strike between preserving traditional freedoms and accepting heightened security.

Fear and terror spread in the gaps where there is no understanding. Give us the full picture and we will judge for ourselves how and when to go about our business as usual.
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