Mr Justice Collins Strikes Blow Against UK Government's Assumption Of Dictatorial Power

See my previous post Terror Or Freedom? commenting on The Times' prediction that Mr Justice Collins was about to deliver another body blow to the UK government's draconian anti-terror laws. They were right: see the title link.

Let me make it clear. I have no quarrel with very strict anti-terror laws. There are only two provisos. The laws must be (a) proper laws approved by Parliament and (b) in accordance with fundamental human rights.

Mr Justice Collins, I think, agrees. I do not suggest that he agrees with any other of my comments.

It is simply wrong that by executive action the government can freeze assets on the basis of undisclosed information and provide no effective avenue of appeal. This is such a fundamental breach of the rule of law that such actions are insupportable in a society that professes itself to be democratic and free.

The imposition in this way of such laws is characteristic of a dictatorship not a democracy. If the court's were to countenance laws of this kind they would be acquiescing, at the very least, in government by an oligarchy.

Thus any appeal must fail. If it does not then democracy has been abolished in this country.

Speaker Martin: Update, Update, Update!

MPs back down on expenses

In Atticus in The Sunday Times today:

"An obscure Tory backbencher has made himself the member least likely to catch the Speaker’s eye in the Commons. Douglas Carswell has become the first MP to call publicly on Michael Martin to resign.

The Harwich MP says a new Speaker is the only way to regain public confidence in the Commons. “Speaker Martin must step down,” says Carswell. “Perhaps not immediately, but he needs to set a date for his departure now. MPs need to choose a Speaker who understands there is a problem with Westminster politics”. The question now is: are any other MPs brave enough to line up alongside Carswell?"

At last, even if only a little one, an MP speaks up.

They really are a bunch of cowards! No bones in their blubbery little bodies at all.

Mr Carswell is, after all, merely stating the obvious. But, why not immediately?

Deleted Post re Sebastian Coe and Tim Henman

I deleted a post this morning. I do not normally do this. I decided, however, that the conclusions I had drawn (that Lord Coe and Tim Henman were liars and hypocrites) did not necessarily follow from my premises (that they had each made public statements in support of the Chinese Olympics).

My conclusions were non sequiturs. Whatever difficulties I may have had with their arguments, it is entirely possible that they are sincerely espousing beliefs that they genuinely hold. I therefore entirely withdraw all and any such allegations, whether or not I made them or not and whether or not any record of any such allegations survive on the internet or not.

By way of recompense I only include entirely positive images of our two heroes.


Postscript on Site Maintenance:

I am getting the hang now of the new google run dashboard. This means that I might be cluttering up the internet some morewith what is essentially no more than a medieval day book.