Sauce for the goose

In the wake of the Charlie Hebdo killings, Nigel Farage has been widely condemned for his immoderate remarks about “gross multiculturalism” and about the presence of “a fifth column”.  

For example,

Communities and Local Government Secretary Eric Pickles said it was "utterly wrong" for any politician to make "political points" so soon after the attacks.

"If we fight among ourselves or see our neighbours of any faith as the enemy, then the only winners are the gunman," he warned.

Similarly,

On his LBC phone-in, Mr Clegg said: "I am dismayed that Nigel Farage immediately thinks, on the back of the bloody murders that we saw on the streets of Paris yesterday, his first reflex is to make political points."

The Lib Dem leader said that if the attackers did turn out to be Islamist extremists, "law-abiding British Muslims" were the "greatest antidote to the perversion of Islam".

Even the Prime Minister got in on the act:

David Cameron, who along with Mr Miliband condemned the attacks during Prime Minister's Questions on Wednesday, said of Mr Farage's comments: "Today is not the day to make political remarks or arguments.

"Today is the day to stand four-square behind the French people."

But I see no rush to condemn the boss of MI5 who - arguably - used the situation to make his own political points:

The threat of a terror attack in the UK is increasing and the security services cannot be expected to stop every plot, the head of MI5 has warned.

Speaking after the attack on the French magazine Charlie Hebdo, Andrew Parker said police and MI5 had "stopped three UK terrorist plots" in recent months.

He said the number of Britons who have travelled to Syria was now around 600.

…

He went on to defend the interception of communications by the security services.It follows criticism of GCHQ and the US National Security Agency after leaks by ex-US security contractor Edward Snowden.

Mr Parker said "almost all" of MI5's key counter-terrorism operations had involved the practice.

He went on to warn against a situation where privacy in the UK was "so absolute and sacrosanct that terrorists and others who mean us harm can confidently operate from behind those walls without fear of detection".

Is using the Charlie Hebdo killings to defend the policy of communications interception any less deplorable than Farage’s intervention?