Taking Liberties.

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Taking Liberties.

Starting before 9/11 New Labour has brought in a huge raft of legislation to tackle terrorism and antisocial behaviour:

  • Terrorism Act 2000 - giving police unlimited powers to stop and search, and Home Secretary the power to proscribe organisations.
  • Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001 - giving the Home Secretary the power to detain foreign nationals indefinitely without charge.
  • Extradition Act 2003 - means you can be extradited to the USA, Turkey and 100 other countries without evidence.
  • Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 (SOCPA) - amongst other things creates a 1 km zone around parliament in which the right to protest has been much restricted. Also allows the Home Secretary to place any British citizen under house arrest based only under 'reasonable suspicion'. Also allows imprisonment for peaceful protest.
  • Terrorism Act 2006 - allows police to hold anyone without charge for 28 days. Fixed penalty notices are now applicable for dozens of different crimes - allowing police to judge guilt on the spot. Also makes 'encouragement of terrorism' an offence.
These acts have abolished centuries old common law liberties, which the Human Rights Act did little to improve. Perhaps these measures might have been justified if:
  1. They worked i.e. they led to the conviction of offenders,
  2. Previously existing law was demonstrably inadequate.
  3. They were always proportionately and responsibly used.
Regrettably none of these things are true. These measures represent a massive attack on the right to protest peacefully - something that, in view of the meaninglessness of voting under the current system, is vital to avoid tyranny.

Britain has a poor record on torture:

  1. Acceptance of the new US definition of torture - that it involves inflicting severe pain to the level of death, organ failure, or the permanent impairment of a significant body function. Anything else is acceptable.
  2. Complicity in the 'extraordinary rendition' flights.
  3. An attempt by the Home Office to have evidence extracted by torture made admissable in court. This failed but they use it for 'intelligence'. ("Ex Ambassador Slams Straw over torture", Sunday Herald, 20 Feb 2005, www.craigmurray.org.uk/archives/2005/02/sunday_herald_e.html.
Not content with all this, New Labour is developing the hugely expensive National Identity Scheme, which will not catch terrorists, but will inevitably lead to a huge increase in identity theft.

Finally there are ASBOs, which at best are a badge of honour to wayward kids, and a means for neighbours to settle scores.

The above account in no way does justice to the subject. To learn more read, "Taking Liberties", by Chris Atkins, Sarah Bee and Fiona Button, published by Revolver Books 2007, see the film or visit the website, www.noliberties.com

Why has all this happened? There are at least four theories.

The government story is that it is a measured response to an unprecedented threat. The threat is not unprecented. Far more Britons were killed in the second world war than are ever likely to be killed by 'terrorists'. And yet then we kept our nerve; the measures taken were far less oppressive. The difference is that then we had a leader with real courage - physical and mental (flaws though he might have had)

The second theory is that Tony Blair was terrified of being branded "soft on terrorism" or "soft on crime" in certain sections of the media. The police played up to this for obvious reasons. This theory almost certainly contains a degree of truth.

Another theory that contains an element of truth is that Tony Blair was desperate to impress Bush. He confused access with influence, achieving the first but failing to exert the second.

A darker theory is that government wanted to strike fear into the people in order to control them. This is lent credence by the hyping up of the liquid bomb scare which resulted in a raft of new restrictions over air travel. There are those that point to a number of unexplained circumstances surrounding 7/7 and claiming it was a "black operation". The government' refusal to hold an enquiry only increased the speculation - and an independent enquiry would surely have taught us something about how to prevent a repeat.

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Page Last Updated 24 August 2007.