John le Carré : The influence of spies has become too much. It's time politicians said no.
n my recent novel A Delicate Truth, a retired and patently decent British foreign servant accuses his old employers of being party to a Whitehall coverup, and for his pains is promptly threatened with the secret courts. Yet amid all the comment that my novel briefly provoked, this particular episode attracted no attention.
What are secret courts? Why do we need them? To protect Britain's special relationship with the United States, we are officially told; to protect the credibility and integrity of our intelligence services. Never mind that for decades we have handled security-sensitive cases by clearing the court whenever necessary, and allowing our secret servants to withhold their names and testify from behind screens, real or virtual: now, all of a sudden, the credibility and integrity of our intelligence services are at stake, and need urgent and draconian protection.
Never mind the credibility and integrity of parliament and centuries of British justice: our spies come first. And remember, these aren't criminal courts. These are civil courts where anyone attempting to obtain redress for a real or perceived injustice perpetrated against him by British or American secret agencies must have his claims heard and dealt with in secret.
A loyal British soldier sees his comrades being mown down by friendly fire? From now on, he will have to air his grievance in the secret courts. Compensation for the afflicted families? Maybe. But no apology or explanation. That's "policy" or, in plain English, you can't argue.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jun/14/spies-influence-john-le-carre
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