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Home Office in the media

This blog post was published under the 2015-2024 Conservative Administration

https://homeofficemedia.blog.gov.uk/2019/12/24/home-office-in-the-media-tuesday-24-december/

Home Office in the media: Tuesday 24 December

Posted by: , Posted on: - Categories: Leading stories

Home Office in the media

Today's top stories include allegations of racism in football and the Government’s evidence to the United States Senate Judiciary Committee on the use of end-to-end encryption.

Racism in football

There has been widespread coverage across broadcast and print publications of the allegations of racism at the Spurs vs Chelsea game on Sunday.

The media, including BBC Online, Daily Telegraph, Guardian, Independent, Daily Mail and Sun, lead on Downing Street warning the Premier League to get a grip on the issue if the game is to avoid Government intervention.

The report follows scenes at Tottenham Hotspur at the weekend, which is the 15th match affected by alleged racism in domestic football this season. As well as alleged monkey noises by Tottenham fans towards Chelsea player Antonio Rudiger on Sunday, BBC news is focussing on the emerging alleged racism against Son Heung-Min.

Home Secretary Priti Patel said:

Racism in all walks of life is completely unacceptable and football is no exception. Those found guilty of a racially aggravated offence under the Public Order Act can face a sentence of both six months in prison and a 10 year ban from attending all football matches.

We fully expect the entire football community to work with the authorities to bring the perpetrators to justice so we can stamp this evil out of our national game.

Facebook encryption

The Daily Telegraph, Times, Mail and Sun have all reported on the UK Government’s evidence to the United States Senate Judiciary Committee on the use of end-to-end encryption and its risks to public safety.

All articles highlighted the Government’s position that Facebook's end-to-end encryption plans will undermine Britain's ability to thwart terror plots. The Telegraph and Times further state that the ability to intercept and read messages is essential for investigators to “prevent crimes from taking place.”

Home Secretary Priti Patel said:

I have been very clear that companies should not go ahead with proposals to implement end-to-end encryption until they can ensure it won’t hamper their ability and that of law enforcement to detect and take action against some of the most vile content on the web, such as child sexual exploitation.

This testimony lays out the UK Government’s position clearly, factually and dismantles the myths and misconceptions pedalled to prevent proper debate. I would urge anyone interested in engaging seriously on these vital issues to read it in full.

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