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Access to the internet will be banned.”
No matter how many times Dr Marcus McCoy read it aloud, or recited the words in his head, the same inescapable truth always rang true. These words, this carefully prepared speech to parliament, would be the defining moment of his premiership.
All of the details he was about to reveal to his elected colleagues, and share with the nation, had been pored over for months. All building up to this one moment. It had been the centrepiece of his party’s manifesto pledges, helping to sweep him to the biggest electoral landslide in a generation. A majority in the house of 196 ensured there wasn’t going to be much he couldn’t push through in terms of change. The only unanswered questions were the exact details of his proposed reforms.
Moving away from the window over-looking the Thames, Westminster Bridge and the London Eye, McCoy returned to the desk in the large, comfortable office. It was one of the many rooms always made available for ministers and shadow ministers to use when parliament was in session.
On the desk was a large computer screen, logged into the parliamentary network, a glass of water, and his pile of papers. Before any major speech to the house he liked to have a few moments to himself, whilst the chamber filled, just to gather his thoughts, before the ensuing scrum of the debate.
Sitting in front of his papers he quickly read the opening paragraph of his speech once more before moving it to one side. Underneath, in a clear plastic wallet, was a further document, a report that Miles Winston, the Secretary of State for Defence, had given him in confidence at his own request, just days after the election victory.
His narrow, hawk-like blue eyes scanned the title, its meanings rumbling noisily in his thoughts: CODEX file OP09/ST - UKCitizensNet implementation and development. Pulling the report from the plastic wallet he turned the first page and began to read. He’d read it before, more than once, and he knew all of the meanings, all of the implications. His speech today would lay the groundwork for a government project that would never be known beyond a chosen few, but which would forever changes the lives of every person living in the country. A move that would give him the means to pursue whatever political imperative he felt was necessary.
Skimming through the first few pages his gaze stopped on a list of names. Three people who, all in very different ways, were critical to the success of Phase I. Without them the project would not be able to succeed, whatever input his own people had.
The first name on the list was Vincent Trevellion. McCoy read the brief biography on the page before him. Trevellion was an ambitious regional director of a large software provider to the defence industry. He was qualified, familiar with the market and, most importantly, driven by a thirst for advancement. An ideal candidate he reflected, running his fingers through his greying hair, neatly swept into a tidy side-parting.
Before he could read the biography for the second name on the list his concentration was disturbed by a gentle knock on the door. Looking up from the report the door to the office opened. Nigel Braithwaite, his Private Secretary, stood in the doorway, bolt upright as always, efficient as ever with his timekeeping.
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They’re ready for you Prime Minister,” he said with a firm authoritative tone. “The house is very full today.”
McCoy nodded, gathering up his papers, taking one final sip from the glass of cool water on the desk.
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And so it should be,” he replied confidently, exiting the office to where two security personnel were waiting to escort him. “My speech is going to change this country beyond all recognition.”
Braithwaite nodded knowingly, aware of the contents of the speech, although unaware of the existence of the CODEX report accompanying the Prime Minister’s papers. As the hour for McCoy’s speech had approached he’d prowled around the parliament building monitoring everything that was going on. Conversations had taken place with the chief whips, ensuring all party members were in attendance. Although on a day like this it would have been a job to keep them away.
Then there had been the press. Ordinarily the journalists would have been bustling around the lobby at Westminster, trying to grab a word with a minister or senior backbencher. But in all his time he’d never seen so many journalists or political commentators congregated. Not only were the national media decked out in force, but reporters from what seemed like every newsdesk on the planet were assembled.
It was hardly surprising. The ramifications of Dr McCoy’s address to parliament certainly would be far-reaching, impacting on international markets and economies. All the major stock exchanges had been jittery since McCoy’s ascent to power in the recent election. The previously buoyant international IT market, and in particular the shares of semantic web technology companies and the growing social media giants had been riding the crest of a financial wave for the last few years. But from the point the party’s manifesto had been issued, and McCoy started fleshing out some of his ambitions, the share prices of US, Asian and European software companies had begun to fall. And after today they were likely to go through the floor.
The press was hotly pursuing the story. The phones in the Number 10 press office hadn’t stopped ringing and email boxes were forever full as media outlets, political journalists, IT journalists, and social and cultural commentators kept bombarding his office with yet more requests for information, clarifications or interviews.
But until the speech was delivered, and the details known, there was no comment to be had apart from ‘no comment’. McCoy had been quite clear about that. And he wasn’t a man to be crossed as many political opponents had discovered as his career had developed.
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After this session, tell Miles I want to see him,” McCoy said firmly as they reached the doors to the chamber, the hum of chattering inside seeping out through the closed door.
Braithwaite nodded as McCoy strode confidently through the doors and into the expectant political arena.
Emerging into the House of Commons an excited murmur began to filter round the chamber. McCoy’s own party, many of them newly elected members of parliament, filling row upon row of the benches, broke into a rapturous applause as he approached his seat close to the Speaker of the House.
The size of his victory and the parliamentary majority had even taken him by surprise, despite over 20 years in politics. That time had first been spent in local politics, running an inner city council beset by social deprivation and racial tension. From there his elevation as an MP had been solely in parliamentary opposition, climbing the ranks of his party, being a spokesperson for online developments and defence, before becoming the Shadow Defence Secretary.
It was only after his party’s last electoral defeat had he finally risen to the role many political commentators said he was born to: leading his party. Careful manipulation of the current political scene and the turmoil of a governing party in decline had allowed him to quickly stamp his mark on the future direction of his own party.
When the election had finally come, at the latest date the former Prime Minister had been able to cling onto, the polls had predicted an easy victory.
But not on this scale. Exit polls had only predicted a majority of around 140. And that would have been sufficient cause to celebrate. But 196?
McCoy smiled as he recalled that famous night, his crowning moment as he returned his party to power. Seat after seat had been taken from opposition MPs as the size of his victory grew. His policies, and a pledge to arrest what he now famously had described as ‘the moral and social decline of this great country’, had struck a chord with voters. Traditional voting patterns and parliamentary strongholds were swept away as the number of his own MPs rose.
Television cameras, picking up every angle of parliament, every expression on government and opposition party faces, all focused in on McCoy as he warmly acknowledged the applause of his own party and the drowned-out heckling coming from the benches opposite. A location in the house he’d occupied not so long before.
Taking his seat, his speech and pile of papers resting in his lap, McCoy looked around the house at the sea of faces. This was his government, and they would listen to the promises he was going to deliver on. Both the MPs, the country, and the rest of the world.
Especially the rest of the world.
With the Prime Minister in place the Speaker of the House rose from her elevated seat overlooking the opposing benches. Like a fearsome headmistress, a hush descended on the assembled masses as the respected Margaret Appleton, a former vocal backbencher on social reforms, addressed the benches.
Despite the fact everyone in the house knew the purpose of the parliamentary session the Speaker dutifully gave the Prime Minister his introductions before resuming her seat. Rising to his feet McCoy cast a slow glance under hooded eyelids at the party opposite and their newly appointed leader, before turning to his prepared speech.
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Honourable friends, when I was elected to lead this party there were many visions I wanted to address. Visions which will now define the legacy of this government. And visions which will arrest the moral and social decline of this great country which the members opposite had so efficiently overseen.”
Derisive laughter filled the house as McCoy paused, his MPs cheering his rallying cry, mocking the dwindling numbers of the opposition parties.
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One area more than any other signalled this decline. An area so important to the fabric of this country, and to the people who live under our laws, that I made it my top manifesto pledge in the general election. And on that mandate I was elected to this office. I therefore will not fail to deliver on my pledge to address the political, social and moral corruption that now defines the internet.
In the years of the previous government, UK web sites, internet chat rooms, social media networks, and online services have risen exponentially. Yet what did the previous government do to ensure this vast information network was governed responsibly? The answer is nothing. In their 12 years in power the amount of illegal pornographic web sites, threatening the safety and welfare of our children, our families, have risen by more than 600%. The latest figures from the National Crime Unit indicate a new web site containing illegal images is created every 30 minutes in the UK alone. What did the former government do about this? Nothing. And neither have industry who have been complicit with making it easy for sexual predators to create new obscene web sites without any questions beings asked. This cannot continue.”
More spontaneous applause erupted from the backbenches as McCoy paused, shuffling his papers as the cheers slowly faded.
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And what about the threat every citizen in this country faces every day? Everytime they get on a train, or on a bus, or a plane. The threat of terrorism has never been more real than it is today. Yet, in these times of heightened security and threat, the internet is the single largest breeding ground for terrorists of all extractions. The number of laws extremist web sites openly flout by their content are too many to try and list here. Suffice it to say, the previous government introduced no enforceable safeguards in place to stop these messages being transmitted, or to stop impressionable youths being subverted by individuals whose only aim is to cause bloodshed and create panic in all our lives. The prevailing policy clearly seems to have been ‘publish and be damned and nevermind the consequences’. How many lives have been needlessly lost thanks to this policy? This will not continue.
Information is at the very heart of our lives and must continue to be so. Everyday more and more people are getting connected to the internet. Yet for every new online user, there is a virus or malicious scam trying to steal personal information or destroy your computer. The number of online identity thefts is at the highest level it has ever been. Illegal scams trying to sell you everything from a timeshare that doesn’t exist to pharmaceuticals without prescription are more prevalent than legitimate emails. This trend, and lack of action against it, has risen at the fastest rate ever seen in the last three years - all under the previous government. We will not allow this to continue.
And what about industry? What incentives have they been given to clean up their act, to support the online user, the people of this country, to get the most out of their online experience? The answer is none, because they were never required to do so by any enforceable legislation. Why should they care what’s being published on web space they’re selling at premium prices when there’s an insatiable demand and no questions are being asked. Also let us not forgot the recent independent review by Sir David Michaels that I instigated when I came into office into broadband price-fixing. The findings of this review, which were published today, have categorically supported my belief that internet service providers have been fixing the price of broadband whilst keeping the speed of access artificially slow in order to encourage longer online usage. The result of this is larger bills for the consumer and a bigger bottom line for these companies. Let me say now, all of those companies implicated in Sir David’s review will be heavily punished for their involvement in this scandal.