When jumping on a bandwagon in support of what will not work, and especially when exploiting a tragic death to do so, it’s useful to choose one’s words carefully. Alan Johnson could have said that he wanted us under broader surveillance ‘within two years’, say, or ‘by mid-2015’. So, so much less obviously a ploy to avoid seeking a mandate from citizens than demanding snooping powers ‘on the statute book before the next election’.