The real reason for the anti-terrorism act
Is to suppress dissent, says Greensharp:
Time to remember what the justification of the Terrorism Act was. It was passed by parliament in 2000 on the grounds that police needed new powers to prevent terrorism. Under Section 44 police were given the power to stop and search individuals. However, the legislation explicitly stated that these powers ?may be exercised only for the purpose of searching for articles of a kind which could be used in connection with terrorism.?
It?s clear that this section of the Act is being abused on a massive scale by police forces up and down the country. But we shouldn?t be altogether surprised, since the Act had very little to do with terrorism and a great deal to do with suppressing dissent. For example, one definition of terrorism is any political protest which threatens the ?health and safety? of the public ? a definition so broad that it can be used against anyone protesting about anything. If a group of parents stop the traffic outside their kids primary school to demand a pedestrian crossing they are terrorists. If you wear a T-shirt that a cop doesn?t like, you?re a terrorist.