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Tories accuse Smith of breaking election code

The Conservatives accused Home Secretary Jacqui Smith on Wednesday of breaking election rules by announcing funding for 300 counter-terrorism officers.

  • Reuters
  • Published: 00:15 April 17, 2008
  • Gulf News

London: The Conservatives accused Home Secretary Jacqui Smith on Wednesday of breaking election rules by announcing funding for 300 counter-terrorism officers.

Conservative Local Government Spokesman Eric Pickles said ministers had been told to postpone such announcements until after local and London elections on May 1.

He had reported Smith to the Cabinet Secretary for the breach.

Smith said in a round of media interviews that the officers would help prevent the radicalisation of young people.

Political smokescreen

They would work with schools, mosques, prisons and community organisations to identify those at risk of turning to violent extremism.

"In the long term we cannot arrest our way out of terrorism," she told Sky News.

"We need more investment, more effort in preventing people becoming terrorists in the first place."

But Pickles accused the government of breaking rules. "It is clear that Labour ministers have intentionally broken Cabinet Office rules in an attempt to create a political smokescreen," he said. "They are trying to hide the fact that police authorities across the country are now axing the number of police officers, whilst hiking the police levy on council tax bills."

Smith told BBC radio that police forces would receive an additional £11 million (Dh81 million) over three years to fund the so-called Prevent Officers. "We are working alongside faith groups, particularly those Muslims who want to be able to make the mainstream argument for Islam, against those who want to make a distorted case to support terrorist attacks," she said. Smith said counter-terrorist police and security services were monitoring 22,000 individuals and 30 active plots.

We need more investment, more effort in preventing people becoming terrorists in the first place."

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