From Mark George QC writing in the Observer in response to Henry Porter’s articles on civil liberties.
We all remember the mantra of Labour in 1997 that they were going to be “tough on crime and tough on the causes of crime”, but the reality is that the second limb of that soundbite has, in fact, changed to being “tough on those accused of crime”.
Indeed so. Although anyone reading about the antics of “Shiny Buttons” this weekend, will realise that this also includes those accused of made up crimes, too.
George’s article is a good read and reminds us that it isn’t just Labour who are responsible here – he refers back to Michael Howard’s disgraceful tenure as home secretary.
“Although anyone reading about the antics of “Shiny Buttons” this weekend, will realise that this also includes those accused of made up crimes, too.”
Oh, dear, really?
Better hope the police don’t catch up with those men driving that Transit van then… 😉
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Oh, dear…
As I’ve said many times, the immediate causes of crime are individual criminals, and the government refuses to be tough on them. They’d rather let them all out to wander amongst us, take away the idea of innocent until proven guilty and treat us all like suspects, or better still use new technology to turn the country into a huge open prison. Looking down from their ivory tower, its difficult to distinguish between honest law-abiding people and deranged, violent thugs.
We desperately need a decent, liberal (or even conservative) government who know where the boundaries stand:
Individual liberty
No ID cards
Prison for the innocent; freedom for the guilty
Lower taxes
Can’t be that hard, can it?
Oh, and they can get rid of some CCTV as well while they’re at it.
Unfortunately Paul, I don’t think this is going to happen unless and until enough people rise up against the orwellian state. A lot of these draconian measures arise from international treaties, including but not limited to EU-inspired stuff. The tories are not going to take a stand against such things. They lack the cojones as well as the inclination.
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