Clarke U Turn?
It seems Charles Clarke has been forced to rethink his plans for house arrest of suspected terrorists following concerns from the security services, if this Telegraph piece is to be believed.
Deciding for the moment not to derogate from Article 5 of the European Convention on Human rights, Mr Clarke, along with other ministers
…has been taken aback by the outcry over the plans since they were announced in the Commons last month
It says something for the state of affairs that anyone should be taken aback by such outcry. We are, after all talking about habeas corpus, a principle that has existed in English law since 1309. A principle that is being brushed aside on the whim of a politician in the most cynical manner in the name of the war on terror. Well, that’s the excuse. That there is no war on terror and that there is no worldwide network of terrorists is neither here nor there to the power hungry control freaks who would tag us as belongings of the state and use surveillance to exert more control and award themselves more power.
I would like to think our disreputable Home Secretary will rethink all of his authoritarian agenda - but I’m not that fanciful. I suspect that the rethink of house arrest is merely a pause in proceedings, nothing more.
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