Brown: Britain 'shoulder to shoulder' with US against terror
British chancellor Gordon Brown paid tribute today to the Tony Blair's “courageous” leadership and said that Britain stood “shoulder to shoulder” with the US ahead of the fifth anniversary of the September 11 attacks.
In today’s Sun newspaper, Mr Brown attacked al-Qaida as an enemy “driven by hatred of our very existence”.
No one could afford to be “neutral or disengaged” in the fight against them, he argued.
Mr Brown also promised not to let the British Armed Forces go short of weapons or equipment, while stressing that he had doubled the UK budget on security since the September 11 attacks to £2bn (€2.95bn) a year.
He paid tribute to the security services, which he said had helped thwart suspected terrorist plots and said the police “must have the powers they need”.
Mr Brown’s article comes just three days before the fifth anniversary of the September 11 attacks.
It may be interpreted by some as an attempt to boost his credentials in the war on terrorism, should he take over as British prime minister from Mr Blair.
It is also written as news of previously unseen footage of some of the September 11 hijackers meeting al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden was shown by Arab TV station al-Jazeera.
Mr Brown wrote: “In a few days I will visit New York and reaffirm to the American people that Britain – under the courageous leadership of Tony Blair - stands now as then, shoulder to shoulder with them.”
“In al-Qaida, we face an enemy driven by hatred of our very existence.
“Between justice and evil, humanity and barbarity, democracy and tyranny, no one can afford to be neutral or disengaged.”
Mr Brown went on to praise Britain’s “heroic” Armed Forces, who were “leading in the global fight we must wage against terrorism”.
The “painstaking efforts” of the security services had helped to avert “more atrocities” in the UK, he argued.
Mr Brown went on: “I have already doubled the money we spend on security since 9/11 to £2bn (€2.95bn) per year and I guarantee we will continue spend whatever it takes to meet the new security demands we face and our military commitments abroad.”
Mr Brown said that every week he had to take decisions on freezing the assets of suspected terrorists and the benefits paid to their families.
He went on to call for stronger border controls and said the ability to identify suspects had to be enhanced.
He added: “Alongside the national ID card scheme, our next step must be the introduction of biometrics in new passports and visas, and the screening of all passengers.
“And besides targeting the terrorists themselves, we must win the battle for hearts and minds in their communities.”
