14 DAY TRIAL // Nick Clegg, UK’s deputy PM, might have admitted to being at the center of the scandal regarding the destruction of The Guardian’s hard drives, but he says he is concerned about the David Miranda situation.
In an article published in The Guardian, Clegg says he was not consulted about the Home Office’s plans to detain the partner of Glenn Greenwald. “Terrorism powers should be used proportionately,” he says, referring to the use of schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act 2000 in the Miranda affair.
“That is why it is immensely important that the independent reviewer of terrorism powers, David Anderson QC, reports rapidly on whether this was a legitimate use of the Terrorism Act and whether that legislation should be adjusted,” Clegg says.
He also mentions that they are already planning to limit schedule 7 powers. However, it seems a little too late, considering Miranda was detained for 9 hours on no grounds and under no terrorism suspicions.
Clegg also expressed the other issue that made headlines last week, namely the destruction of the hard drives of the Guardian, situation in which he was directly involved.
However, while he expressed concern when it comes to David Miranda’s situation, he seems completely unapologetic when it comes to such an attack on the freedom of expression of the press.
“Along with the information the newspaper had published, it had information that put national security and lives at risk. It was right for us to want that information destroyed,” Clegg justifies his actions.
The deputy PM refers to the information as having been destroyed, which begs the question if the UK authorities really have no idea about how digital data works. The Guardian’s editors confirmed the same files are also stored elsewhere and even made a pact with the New York Times to publish the GCHQ information.
This means, that despite what Clegg and the rest of the British government might want, the dirty details of the GCHQ’s involvement with the NSA will still come to light.