Terror race like Nazi battle - Reid

12 April 2012

Home Secretary John Reid has compared the technological race to combat Islamist terrorism with Britain's battle against the Nazis.

Mr Reid said the constant fight to stay one step ahead of terrorists' attempts to outwit security measures was akin to the development of weapons such as the bouncing bomb in the Second World War.

He told a conference of industrialists from the security sector that they should harness their expertise in the same way as bouncing bomb inventor Barnes Wallis and the Enigma code cracker Alan Turing.

The Home Secretary said: "In a sense it is a recall of the innovators of the past.

"Just as in the past people, like Barnes Wallace or Alan Turing or Tommy Flowers (computing pioneer), were vital in a technological battle to beat the then enemy, the Nazis, so we must be able to utilise the skills and expertise of all in our society in the battle against terror."

Mr Reid's speech in central London revealed that in the last five years, 387 people had been charged with terrorist offences. Of those, 214 have already been convicted, with a further 98 awaiting trial.

He said: "That is an indication of the scale of the threat which we face. In responding to it, the struggle has to be at every level, in every way and by every single person in this country.

"It is easy between trials and between headlines to forget just how deep this ongoing struggle is."

Mr Reid proposed setting up an "innovation taskforce" to encourage security and technology companies to work together where possible, while still encouraging competition.

He added that it was essential to keep ahead of international competitors but also to pre-empt the "enemy who seeks our weaknesses".

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