Brian Haw Loses – We All Lose, Democracy Loses.

A couple of people have picked up on this sordid little judgement:

Peace activist Brian Haw may have to end his five-year vigil outside Parliament as the government has won an appeal against an earlier legal ruling.

Last July, Mr Haw, 56, from Worcestershire, won a High Court action against a new law threatening his round-the-clock protest.

But three Court of Appeal judges have now overturned that decision.

Why? The legislation was not retrospective, so why has the court of appeal reached this decision?

The government said Mr Haw posed a potential security risk and described his argument as absurd,

There is, indeed, an absurd argument here, but it isn’t Brian Haw’s. What right thinking person, what reasonable man could possibly concur that a lone peace activist is a “security threat”? What utter codswallop, what an insult to the intelligence of the nation, what abject arrogance.

Sir Anthony said: “Parliament intended to include demonstrations whenever they started. Any other conclusion would be wholly irrational and could fairly be described as manifestly absurd.”

Well, yes, that much was pretty obvious, but the earlier ruling was the sensible one as it underlined the spite inherent in the government’s decision to bring about this pernicious legislation in the first instance. Legislation that has no place in a society that exercises the principle of free speech. Parliament belongs to the people, not the self-serving poltroons who park their arses on its benches.

At least Mr Haw has been given leave to appeal and I hope that he does so. These nasty totalitarians need to be resisted at every step as they seek to overturn our freedoms.

Threat to security; my arse!