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Roger Warren Evans
Roger Warren Evans
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You are in the company
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Roger Warren Evans |
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item0035A 650, 651 650 9 March 2003 Terrorists v Democrats Regular readers will know just how deeply I oppose unilateral aggression against Iraq. In my view, the drive-to-war is a mere political device, deployed by the US Republican Party for its own narrow ends, without principle and without vision. But that does not mean that I underestimate the difficulties of countering terrorist threats to a peaceful world order. I am not a pacifist. I favour the expansion of counter-intelligence services, both conventional and covert. And as a socialist and democrat, I know that I must address the political problems which this expansion poses. The constitutional regulation of covert intelligence services constitutes a real challenge to the open and democratic society. Democracy abhors secrecy, yet secrecy is essential. And it is clear that, without effective checks and balances, the most ridiculous inefficiencies can emerge. The imprisonment of Derek Bond in South Africa, on FBI orders, as a result of a very conventional form of identity theft, should sound warning bells. The FBI currently has a staff of 11,400, and their job is the global tracking of 12,000 suspected or known criminals - it's a real one-to-one. And yet a Clouseau-like pantomime was played out in a South African jail, imprisoning a 72-year-old innocent British Citizen Derek Bond.
These cock-ups are not irrelevant. They must be addressed, by all those concerned with civil and human rights. Incompetence on the part of secret agencies constitutes a real and distinctive threat to a free society. As these State activities expand, new political checks and balances must be devised, to give far better assurances that civil rights will be respected. The pantomime imprisonment of Derek Bond must not be repeated. It will not be enough for us to "trust Ministers", or Members of the Privy Council. As the whole sector grows (and I accept that there is no alternative to its expansion) traditional constitutional arrangements will prove inadequate.
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651 9 March 2003 My own mango experience As political transparency increases, intriguing light is thrown on the lives of our leaders. A declaration was published, of gifts received by Ministers, in the course of their official duties. And shock-horror! Peter Mandelson received a gift-box of mangoes from the Hinduja brothers, when their passport applications were under consideration. Mangoes were my own introduction, to bribery and corruption. It was Christmas 1969, and earlier that year I had joined Bovis as a management trainee. Having worked for eight months with the late Frank Sanderson (then head of the group's housebuilding division), I moved with him to the Bovis HQ, then at Notting Hill Gate, when he took over as the overall Group Chief Executive in December 1969 - see my CoreCV story. I was Frank Sanderson's Executive Assistant, working as part of his office, and in an increasingly influential position. And that meant - I was soon to learn - that I came the subject of "influence" myself. And just before Christmas 1969 I received, from one of Bovis Homes' electrical sub-contractors, a magnificent box of two-dozen beautifully ripened mangoes. Immediately, I consulted Frank Sanderson. He was a wise man and by then a good friend - I had great affection for him. What should I do? Send them back? I asked. This was his advice.
And that has been my approach ever since. It was good advice. What do you think? Drop me a line Or contribute to the new JoinWarrenEvans Discussion Group.
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