Guardian Coverage & Institute of Race Relations Report - 16/11/2009
Letter Responding to The Guardian article of 17.10.09
From: ALAN JOHNSON
Thank you for your letter and the opportunity to address the misleading claims made in articles in The Guardian on 17 October. I am sure you will have seen my interim response in a letter to the paper on 20 October.
The purpose of Prevent has never been to spy on innocent people or indeed to collect intelligence of any kind. Any suggestion that Prevent is a cover for the intelligence services is wrong. The role of intelligence in support of our counter terrorist work is set out clearly in our counter terrorist strategy document, CONTEST.