Names emerged from interviews with Breivik and English anti-Muslim blogger Paul Ray, say Norwegian police Norwegian police say they are to question several British citizens in their search for potential accomplices of mass killer Anders Behring Breivik. Officers in Oslo said the names of individuals and several far-right groups emerged from questioning of British anti-Muslim blogger Paul Ray as well as further interviews with Breivik. Police press officer Roar Hanssen said: “We have some names and also some groups we are investigating. They came from Paul Ray, and also from Breivik and also from other things we have been investigating.” Breivik, 32, admitted killing 77 people last month when he detonated a truck bomb outside government offices in Oslo, and then went on a shooting spree at a youth camp at Utøya, 25 miles away. He was questioned again on Wednesday and prosecutor Paal-Fredrik Hjort Kraby said officers focused on Breivik’s manifesto, his alleged links to a group called the Knights Templar and potential ties to the UK. Hanssen said: “A lot of people are mentioned in Breivik’s manifesto and we, of course, want to speak to them and there are some links to the UK. I don’t know if there are specific areas they are from but there are some rightwing groups.” Ray was interviewed last week after claims he may have been the “mentor” mentioned by Breivik in his “manifesto”, posted online shortly before he carried out the killings on 22 July. Ray, who wrote his blog under the name Lionheart, has said it appeared Breivik drew inspiration from some of his ideas and writings, but he has repeatedly denied any link, saying he never met Breivik and was horrified by the killings. He said he travelled to Norway to “clear his name”. Breivik wrote that he attended the founding meeting of the Knights Templar Europe “military order” in London in 2002 where he met a “mentor” who used the pseudonym Richard, after Richard the Lionheart. He signed the 1,500-page document with an anglicised version of his name and datelined it London 2011. Breivik also repeatedly praised the English Defence League, saying he had 600 EDL supporters as Facebook friends and had spoken with members and leaders. The EDL has condemned the killings and has denied any official contact with Breivik, insisting it is a peaceful, non-racist organisation opposed to extremism. Kraby said Norwegian police did not have evidence that Breivik had accomplices, but “did not rule out the possibility.” Norwegian officers are now deciding whether to carry out the interviews in the UK or in Norway. Hanssen said: “We can ask for help from the British police. It is not decided what we will do yet but these are possibilities.” Anders Behring Breivik Norway Europe Matthew Taylor guardian.co.uk
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Stirling University fighting attempt by Philip Morris to gain access to research under freedom of information laws Stirling University is fighting attempts by one of the world’s largest tobacco companies to gain detailed access to its research into the smoking habits and attitudes of teenagers. Philip Morris International, which makes Marlboro cigarettes, wants the university’s centre for tobacco control research to hand over its data on thousands of children who are smokers. The detail reveals their attitudes to smoking and reactions to packaging and advertising. The company has successfully complained to the Scottish information commissioner, Kevin Dunion, after Stirling refused to answer a freedom of information request seeking access to the research. The university said the firm’s application, originally made anonymously through a London law firm, was “vexatious” and rejected it. But Dunion has overruled the university and ordered it to respond to Philip Morris’s request. Professor Gerard Hastings, the centre’s director, said the tobacco company was mining his research for confidential data on children’s attitudes – details a firm would not be allowed to collect itself on medical ethics grounds. “They wanted everything we had ever done on this,” Hastings told the Independent . “These are confidential comments about how youngsters feel about tobacco marketing. This is the sort of research that would get a tobacco company into trouble if it did it itself. “What is more, these kids have been reassured that only bona fide researchers will have access to their data. No way can Philip Morris fit into that definition.” Philip Morris said it was not seeking any confidential data that would identify the interviewees, and said the research findings it wanted to see were anonymised. Anne Edwards, the company’s head of external communications, said: “As provided by the FOI [Freedom of Information] Act, confidential and private information concerning individuals should not be disclosed. “We made the request in order to understand more about a research project conducted by the University of Stirling on plain packaging for cigarettes.” The centre for tobacco control research was set up by the charity Cancer Research Campaign, now Cancer Research UK, in 1999 within the university’s institute for social marketing, and is part of a UK-wide network of units studying tobacco and smoking. The dispute throws up the prospect of a drawn out legal battle between the university and Philip Morris. If Stirling again refuses the firm’s request, the appeal process could result in a judicial hearing at the court of session, Scotland’s civil court. The Scottish information commissioner’s office said he had to judge Philip Morris’s application neutrally under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2000, which is less restrictive than the equivalent legislation for England and Wales. Dunion has not ordered the university to release the data, but to properly assess the application. “What the commissioner has ruled is that he doesn’t believe that the request is vexatious,” a spokeswoman said. “All he has done is say: ‘You need to deal with this because it is a valid request.’ But the university could still refuse it on other grounds.” Smoking University of Stirling Scotland Tobacco industry Higher education Health Children Severin Carrell guardian.co.uk
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Stirling University fighting attempt by Philip Morris to gain access to research under freedom of information laws Stirling University is fighting attempts by one of the world’s largest tobacco companies to gain detailed access to its research into the smoking habits and attitudes of teenagers. Philip Morris International, which makes Marlboro cigarettes, wants the university’s centre for tobacco control research to hand over its data on thousands of children who are smokers. The detail reveals their attitudes to smoking and reactions to packaging and advertising. The company has successfully complained to the Scottish information commissioner, Kevin Dunion, after Stirling refused to answer a freedom of information request seeking access to the research. The university said the firm’s application, originally made anonymously through a London law firm, was “vexatious” and rejected it. But Dunion has overruled the university and ordered it to respond to Philip Morris’s request. Professor Gerard Hastings, the centre’s director, said the tobacco company was mining his research for confidential data on children’s attitudes – details a firm would not be allowed to collect itself on medical ethics grounds. “They wanted everything we had ever done on this,” Hastings told the Independent . “These are confidential comments about how youngsters feel about tobacco marketing. This is the sort of research that would get a tobacco company into trouble if it did it itself. “What is more, these kids have been reassured that only bona fide researchers will have access to their data. No way can Philip Morris fit into that definition.” Philip Morris said it was not seeking any confidential data that would identify the interviewees, and said the research findings it wanted to see were anonymised. Anne Edwards, the company’s head of external communications, said: “As provided by the FOI [Freedom of Information] Act, confidential and private information concerning individuals should not be disclosed. “We made the request in order to understand more about a research project conducted by the University of Stirling on plain packaging for cigarettes.” The centre for tobacco control research was set up by the charity Cancer Research Campaign, now Cancer Research UK, in 1999 within the university’s institute for social marketing, and is part of a UK-wide network of units studying tobacco and smoking. The dispute throws up the prospect of a drawn out legal battle between the university and Philip Morris. If Stirling again refuses the firm’s request, the appeal process could result in a judicial hearing at the court of session, Scotland’s civil court. The Scottish information commissioner’s office said he had to judge Philip Morris’s application neutrally under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2000, which is less restrictive than the equivalent legislation for England and Wales. Dunion has not ordered the university to release the data, but to properly assess the application. “What the commissioner has ruled is that he doesn’t believe that the request is vexatious,” a spokeswoman said. “All he has done is say: ‘You need to deal with this because it is a valid request.’ But the university could still refuse it on other grounds.” Smoking University of Stirling Scotland Tobacco industry Higher education Health Children Severin Carrell guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Sarkozy under pressure after Le Monde claims secret service spied on journalist
September 1, 2011 No Comment
Phone records of reporter covering Bettencourt affair were intercepted, judge tells paper Nicolas Sarkozy is under pressure over yet another twist in the Bettencourt affair after Le Monde newspaper said it had proof that the French secret services had spied on one of its journalists to uncover his sources. France’s paper of record said an investigating judge had uncovered documents showing that state intelligence agencies had ordered the mobile phone operator Orange to hand over detailed phone records of its investigative reporter Gérard Davet. These included details of every call Davet had made and received and the geo-localisation of his movements. Shortly after the secret services illegally requested the phone files on Davet in July 2010, Le Monde said state spies identified an adviser in the justice ministry as the supposed source for one of Davet’s stories. The adviser, a magistrate, was swiftly demoted and posted to French Guyana. The Bettencourt affair began as a family feud between the L’Oreal heiress, Liliane Bettencourt, and her daughter. But in 2010 it exploded into a series of scandals that threatened the highest levels of the French state. Investigations were opened into illegal party funding, suspected tax evasion and money-laundering while Bettencourt’s links with Sarkozy and his government, in particular the minister of labour, Eric Woerth, came under the spotlight. Davet was targeted after an article revealing Woerth’s links to the case. Le Monde began court action in September last year, suing for the violation of the French law that protects the anonymity of journalists’ sources. The paper said the targeting of Davet and his personal phone information was illegal. The alleged targeting of journalists in the Bettencourt affair, seen as an attempt by the state to intimidate sources into staying quiet, has become known as “the scandal within a scandal”. In a scathing front-page editorial Le Monde said the tracking of journalists had become “an affair of state” which lent credence to the suspicion that a cabinet noir , or office of shady operations, existed at the highest reaches of French power, namely the Elysée. Nicolas Sarkozy France Privacy Le Monde Angelique Chrisafis guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Sarkozy under pressure after Le Monde claims secret service spied on journalist
September 1, 2011 No CommentPhone records of reporter covering Bettencourt affair were intercepted, judge tells paper Nicolas Sarkozy is under pressure over yet another twist in the Bettencourt affair after Le Monde newspaper said it had proof that the French secret services had spied on one of its journalists to uncover his sources. France’s paper of record said an investigating judge had uncovered documents showing that state intelligence agencies had ordered the mobile phone operator Orange to hand over detailed phone records of its investigative reporter Gérard Davet. These included details of every call Davet had made and received and the geo-localisation of his movements. Shortly after the secret services illegally requested the phone files on Davet in July 2010, Le Monde said state spies identified an adviser in the justice ministry as the supposed source for one of Davet’s stories. The adviser, a magistrate, was swiftly demoted and posted to French Guyana. The Bettencourt affair began as a family feud between the L’Oreal heiress, Liliane Bettencourt, and her daughter. But in 2010 it exploded into a series of scandals that threatened the highest levels of the French state. Investigations were opened into illegal party funding, suspected tax evasion and money-laundering while Bettencourt’s links with Sarkozy and his government, in particular the minister of labour, Eric Woerth, came under the spotlight. Davet was targeted after an article revealing Woerth’s links to the case. Le Monde began court action in September last year, suing for the violation of the French law that protects the anonymity of journalists’ sources. The paper said the targeting of Davet and his personal phone information was illegal. The alleged targeting of journalists in the Bettencourt affair, seen as an attempt by the state to intimidate sources into staying quiet, has become known as “the scandal within a scandal”. In a scathing front-page editorial Le Monde said the tracking of journalists had become “an affair of state” which lent credence to the suspicion that a cabinet noir , or office of shady operations, existed at the highest reaches of French power, namely the Elysée. Nicolas Sarkozy France Privacy Le Monde Angelique Chrisafis guardian.co.uk
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Home secretary to specify tighter restrictions under terrorism prevention and investigation measures The government is planning emergency powers to forcibly relocate terror suspects, months after pledging to scrap the existing measure. Launching the terrorism prevention and investigation measures (Tpim) bill in May, the Home Office said “relocation to another part of the country without consent will be scrapped”. But it has now brought back the powers, reserving them for “exceptional circumstances”. The emergency legislation would enable the home secretary to specify more stringent restrictions on suspected terrorists in exceptional circumstances, the Home Office said. These would include the power to relocate the individual without their consent to a different part of the country and tighter restrictions on association and communications, it said. The enhanced Tpim bill will be put before parliament should exceptional circumstances arise. Under the measures, the home secretary “may impose restrictions on the individual leaving a specified area or travelling outside that area”, the draft bill said. A suspect under such an order may also be forced to hand in their passport. The home secretary could also impose restrictions on the individual’s possession or use of electronic communication devices, including both computers and telephones. Further restrictions could also be imposed to limit who the suspect communicates or associates with, where the suspect works or what he or she studies. The restrictions imposed under the Tpim were an “imperfect but necessary step”, the Home Office said. It also rejected a recommendation from the joint committee on human rights that an alternative system of restrictions linked to an ongoing criminal investigation, such as that proposed by the former director of public prosecutions Lord Macdonald, was appropriate. “Tpim notices, like the control orders they will replace, are intended to be used in such cases – where there is no realistic prospect of a prosecution, and there is no imminent prospect that further investigation will yield evidence that could be used to prosecute,” the Home Office said. “In such cases the government is faced with a stark choice between taking no action at all – potentially leaving the public unprotected from a serious threat – and imposing preventative measures to protect the public. “In such a case the purpose of the measures is not to facilitate the gathering of evidence – which process will already have been exhausted, although of course it will continue as far as is possible while restrictions are in force – but to protect the public and disrupt or prevent the individual’s involvement in terrorism-related activity.” May’s decision to impose a control order on a terror suspect banned from London was upheld by the high court in July. Mr Justice Owen, sitting in London, ruled that the restrictions imposed on CD’s freedom, including the decision to relocate him from London to a Midlands city, were a “necessary and proportionate measure for the protection of the public from the risk presented by CD and his associates”. The judge said he was satisfied that there were reasonable grounds for suspecting that CD, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was “a leading figure in a network of Islamist extremists based in north London and has been involved in planning an attack or attacks on members of the public”. The relocation powers were ditched by the coalition under the new terrorist prevention and investigation measures, which will replace control orders from next year. The shadow home secretary, Yvette Cooper, warned MPs that plans to water down the control orders would mean that CD could no longer be stopped from living in the capital. Under the draft emergency legislation, such powers would be able to be brought back in exceptional circumstances. UK security and terrorism Terrorism policy Global terrorism guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Home secretary to specify tighter restrictions under terrorism prevention and investigation measures The government is planning emergency powers to forcibly relocate terror suspects, months after pledging to scrap the existing measure. Launching the terrorism prevention and investigation measures (Tpim) bill in May, the Home Office said “relocation to another part of the country without consent will be scrapped”. But it has now brought back the powers, reserving them for “exceptional circumstances”. The emergency legislation would enable the home secretary to specify more stringent restrictions on suspected terrorists in exceptional circumstances, the Home Office said. These would include the power to relocate the individual without their consent to a different part of the country and tighter restrictions on association and communications, it said. The enhanced Tpim bill will be put before parliament should exceptional circumstances arise. Under the measures, the home secretary “may impose restrictions on the individual leaving a specified area or travelling outside that area”, the draft bill said. A suspect under such an order may also be forced to hand in their passport. The home secretary could also impose restrictions on the individual’s possession or use of electronic communication devices, including both computers and telephones. Further restrictions could also be imposed to limit who the suspect communicates or associates with, where the suspect works or what he or she studies. The restrictions imposed under the Tpim were an “imperfect but necessary step”, the Home Office said. It also rejected a recommendation from the joint committee on human rights that an alternative system of restrictions linked to an ongoing criminal investigation, such as that proposed by the former director of public prosecutions Lord Macdonald, was appropriate. “Tpim notices, like the control orders they will replace, are intended to be used in such cases – where there is no realistic prospect of a prosecution, and there is no imminent prospect that further investigation will yield evidence that could be used to prosecute,” the Home Office said. “In such cases the government is faced with a stark choice between taking no action at all – potentially leaving the public unprotected from a serious threat – and imposing preventative measures to protect the public. “In such a case the purpose of the measures is not to facilitate the gathering of evidence – which process will already have been exhausted, although of course it will continue as far as is possible while restrictions are in force – but to protect the public and disrupt or prevent the individual’s involvement in terrorism-related activity.” May’s decision to impose a control order on a terror suspect banned from London was upheld by the high court in July. Mr Justice Owen, sitting in London, ruled that the restrictions imposed on CD’s freedom, including the decision to relocate him from London to a Midlands city, were a “necessary and proportionate measure for the protection of the public from the risk presented by CD and his associates”. The judge said he was satisfied that there were reasonable grounds for suspecting that CD, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was “a leading figure in a network of Islamist extremists based in north London and has been involved in planning an attack or attacks on members of the public”. The relocation powers were ditched by the coalition under the new terrorist prevention and investigation measures, which will replace control orders from next year. The shadow home secretary, Yvette Cooper, warned MPs that plans to water down the control orders would mean that CD could no longer be stopped from living in the capital. Under the draft emergency legislation, such powers would be able to be brought back in exceptional circumstances. UK security and terrorism Terrorism policy Global terrorism guardian.co.uk
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A defiant Gaddafi denounced rebels as ‘traitors’, and said tribes loyal to him would never surrender to ‘collaborators’ A defiant Muammar Gaddafi has issued his latest apocalyptic statement, urging his surrounded followers to “keep fighting” and promising to turn Libya “into a hell”. In an audio statement aired this afternoon by Syria’s Arrai TV station, Gaddafi denounced the rebels as “traitors”, and said tribes loyal to him would never surrender to “collaborators”. “We won’t surrender again; we are not women; we will keep fighting,” he declared. “They [the Libyan people] cannot be brought to their knees. You cannot even pass through their soil, can you imagine ruling them? The Libyan people are not a herd of sheep, they cannot be defeated,” he said, referring to still-loyal tribes in the towns of Sirte and Bani Walid. He continued: “My voice represents danger to them [the international community]. Now they are working to jam our radio stations. They fear our voices. This proves the occupiers are weak.” He then exhorted: “Stand up to them from city to city, mountain to mountain, valley to valley. It will continue to be a long battle. Libya will turn into a hell. How can the Libyan people surrender? Continue to fight. We enjoy grassroots support. Collaborators cannot survive.” The message gives no clue where Gaddafi might be hiding, or even if he is still inside the country. There is continuing speculation that he is in or near Bani Walid, 150kms south-east of Tripoli, where he was allegedly spotted last Friday. Alternatively some believe he has fled further to the southern desert town of Sabha, 750 kilometres from the capital. It does indicate that Libya’s vanished ex-leader hasn’t yet grasped the reality of his situation: that most of the country including Tripoli is now under new management. Nor does he appear understand that, far from wanting to rise up and defend his old regime, most Libyans are glad to see the back of him. There is no indication when the message was recorded. But Gaddafi’s broadcast seems deliberately designed to undermine the “Friends of Libya” conference taking place in Paris. The conference, attended by world leaders, is a major boost to the National Transitional Council (NCT), now acclaimed by most of the international community as Libya’s legitimate ruling authority. Muammar Gaddafi Libya Middle East Arab and Middle East unrest Luke Harding guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …A defiant Gaddafi denounced rebels as ‘traitors’, and said tribes loyal to him would never surrender to ‘collaborators’ A defiant Muammar Gaddafi has issued his latest apocalyptic statement, urging his surrounded followers to “keep fighting” and promising to turn Libya “into a hell”. In an audio statement aired this afternoon by Syria’s Arrai TV station, Gaddafi denounced the rebels as “traitors”, and said tribes loyal to him would never surrender to “collaborators”. “We won’t surrender again; we are not women; we will keep fighting,” he declared. “They [the Libyan people] cannot be brought to their knees. You cannot even pass through their soil, can you imagine ruling them? The Libyan people are not a herd of sheep, they cannot be defeated,” he said, referring to still-loyal tribes in the towns of Sirte and Bani Walid. He continued: “My voice represents danger to them [the international community]. Now they are working to jam our radio stations. They fear our voices. This proves the occupiers are weak.” He then exhorted: “Stand up to them from city to city, mountain to mountain, valley to valley. It will continue to be a long battle. Libya will turn into a hell. How can the Libyan people surrender? Continue to fight. We enjoy grassroots support. Collaborators cannot survive.” The message gives no clue where Gaddafi might be hiding, or even if he is still inside the country. There is continuing speculation that he is in or near Bani Walid, 150kms south-east of Tripoli, where he was allegedly spotted last Friday. Alternatively some believe he has fled further to the southern desert town of Sabha, 750 kilometres from the capital. It does indicate that Libya’s vanished ex-leader hasn’t yet grasped the reality of his situation: that most of the country including Tripoli is now under new management. Nor does he appear understand that, far from wanting to rise up and defend his old regime, most Libyans are glad to see the back of him. There is no indication when the message was recorded. But Gaddafi’s broadcast seems deliberately designed to undermine the “Friends of Libya” conference taking place in Paris. The conference, attended by world leaders, is a major boost to the National Transitional Council (NCT), now acclaimed by most of the international community as Libya’s legitimate ruling authority. Muammar Gaddafi Libya Middle East Arab and Middle East unrest Luke Harding guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Volcanic eruptions cool the planet by injecting particles into the stratosphere that reflect the sun’s rays, so could an artificial volcano counter global warming? A British scientific team is aiming to find out in what may be the biggest geo-engineering experiment ever conducted, the Guardian reports. The team plans to…
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