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| The Alliance |
| Widdecombe says "treason." Hughs says "give them money." |
| 2001-10-30 |
The former home office minister Ann Widdecombe has said that British citizens who travel to Afghanistan to fight alongside Taleban forces should be charged with treason. Miss Widdecombe told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "Any British citizen who fights against British forces, in my view, has committed treason and certainly, if they come back to this country, they shouldn't imagine that they can then just enjoy the democratic freedoms and rights of a free society, when they have fought against it." However, Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman Simon Hughes said on the same programme that action was needed to tackle the conditions that led to British Muslims being keen to fight on the Taleban's behalf. Perhaps the action which should be taken consists of shutting down Islamic schools and monitoring the activities of the mosques. There's a difference between religion and subversion, and societies have the right to protect themselves by deporting foreigners who attempt to subvert them. People like Mr. Hughes find it ever so much easier to give people money than to actually stand up and tell them not to do something, even if the something is cutting his throat. Ms Widdecombe appears to have a much more distinct set of testicles than he does. |
| Posted by:Fred Pruitt |