The public statements are very much designed to make people think that they are going to ban encryption. When the media outlets all interpreted it that way ther

The public statements are very much designed to make people think that they are going to ban encryption. When the media outlets all interpreted it that way there were no government ministers rushing out to correct the misinterpretation, as they normally would after the PM 'accidentally' announced he wanted to destroy a multi billion pound industry. So even if they aren't actually going to do it, they clearly want people (voters) to think that they are. That's grossly irresponsible in two ways. Firstly the massive risk to UK tech/financial investment. Secondly it creates an expectation among the public and commitariat that encryption bans are feasible and desirable. The home office has a history of creating wildly impossible expectations among the more reactionary sections of the public, which then results in a huge mess when reality gets in the way. For example talking up deporting 'undesirable' people, and then wasting huge amounts of time and money fighting the courts when they actually try to deport somebody to a country where they would be tried on the basis of evidence gained under torture.