Liberal Democrats Launch Radical Plans To Defend Civil Liberties
February 28, 2009 9:31 PM
The Liberal Democrats today published their Freedom Bill, detailing how the party plans to roll back the authoritarian laws passed by both Labour and Conservative governments which have undermined civil liberties.
Emmeline Pankhurst - UK Civil Rights Leader
The legislation is the first time a major political party has collated all of the laws which have undermined civil liberties into one Bill, so that they can be easily repealed.
The 20 measures contained in the draft legislation will:
· Cut the maximum pre-charge detention period from 28 to 14 days
· Abolish the veto in the Freedom of Information Act that allows ministers to keep information secret
· Scrap the ID card scheme
· Remove all innocent people from the DNA database, except for those tried for a violent or sexual
offence
· Stop councils and others snooping by restricting the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA) to
serious and terrorist offences.
· Regulate CCTV to protect privacy following a Royal Commission on the use of cameras
Commenting, Liberal Democrat Shadow Home Secretary, Chris Huhne said:
"With one small change after another over the last 20 years, the cumulative loss of civil liberties is huge.
"The Government has presided over the slow death by a thousand cuts of our hard-won British freedoms.
"Our forebears who fought so hard to establish our rights under the law would be shocked at what we have lost.
"The Freedom Bill we are publishing today will repeal 20 years of attacks on our civil liberties from both Labour and Tory governments."
Liberal Democrat Prospective Member of Parliament for Bristol East said:
"Since 1997 the Labour Government - unsuccessfully opposed by the Official Opposition, the Conservatives - have systematically introduced huge amounts of Home Office legislation - 3,000 additional criminal offences in just one Department, since coming into office".
"We need a Parliamentary rationalisation group to repeal all unnecessary Laws starting with those that impinge on our Civil Liberties."
"Both Labour and Tory Governments have failed Britain on Civil Liberties".
Notes:
1. A website is being launched alongside the draft Bill to encourage consultation and allow members of the public to suggest measures that should be included in it. A link is below:
www.freedom.libdems.org.uk <<a href="http://www.freedom.libdems.org.uk">http://www.freedom.libdems.org.uk>
2. Emmeline Pankhurst: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emmeline_Pankhurst
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