UK News 24-11-2004 Terror Issue Will Dominate Election who: Conservative Party chairman Dr Liam Fox what: Says Queen`s speech shows government election tactics are "desperate" where: House of Commons, LONDON when: Yesterday snippet: "The Government was accused of creating a `climate of fear` yesterday," says The Independent, "after unveiling a Queen`s Speech including measures to improve `safety and security` which will dominate Parliament before the general election next year." "Voters could be forgiven for suspecting this was less the Queen`s speech and more the home secretary`s speech," writes the BBC`s Nick Assinder. "The government`s programme is overwhelmingly dominated by issues relating to crime, anti-social behaviour and, most obviously, security." The speech proposed new measures for "the creation of a British-style FBI to tackle organised crime, ID cards, tackling greedy loan sharks and getting tough on louts," says The Mirror. "The Queen took just 10 minutes to rattle through the Government`s plans for the last Parliamentary session before next year`s election, likely to be in June." "Liam Fox, the Conservatives` co-chairman, said it was clear Labour was trying to raise the fear of terrorism," reports The Financial Times. "`I think that is quite despicable, but it is a desperate government,` he said." In turn, the Liberal Democrats accused Labour of playing "political football" with the terrorism issue after Commons leader Peter Hain claimed moments after the speech that "Britain will be safer under Labour". Of the 37 Bills and draft Bills the speech covered, two relate specifically to fighting terrorists and another five deal with crime, says The Telegraph`s leader today. But the other 25 are "a ragbag of bureaucratic measures, alarming to anyone who is not a human rights lawyer, animal rights activist or lobbyist". [... more]

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