Political conflictHolding the political views that I do, which can be loosely described as “Christian Socialist,” I am very used to sometimes supporting the policies of one party and sometimes another. On the one hand supporting the traditionally right in policies of “family values” (horrible phrase) but also supporting the libertarian views of those that lean further to the left. It comes as no surprise, therefore to find myself supporting the appeal against the Health Ministry guidelines regarding information to parents about their children (I can’t find a news link at the moment).
It does, however, feel uncomfortable finding myself in opposition to this supposedly socialist government on issues of privacy, freedom of speech, and liberty. Uncomfortable being apparently on the same side as Boris Johnson and Anne Widdecombe (Widdy Web has no serious content). I have written on the subject of Identity Cards elsewhere and the Incitement to Religious Hatred Bill deserves more careful consideration but I have found my hackles rising in recent days with the attempt to deliberately remove a fundamental right of justice—that of the right to a trial before detention—known as Habeas Corpus. Yes I know that the police need to be able to investigate before bringing charges and I fully supported the rise from 7 days to 14 days for more complex cases which was brought in a couple of years ago. Stretching this to 90 days, or even 28, is way over the top. If they can’t find sufficient evidence for any crime in the time allowed suggests that perhaps the suspicion is unfounded. Since the 14 days was introduced, I understand that there have been no cases where a suspect released due to insufficient evidence has later been charged or even a warrant issued. You would think that the politicians would have learned from the failure of detention without trial regulations during the Irish troubles to try this tactic again.
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