Tag Archives: conrad black

Opinion: The phone hacking scandal is an attack on civil liberties

Wikipedia defines civil liberties in the following way:

Civil liberties are rights and freedoms that provide an individual specific rights such as the right to life, freedom from torture, freedom from slavery and forced labour, the right to liberty and security, right to a fair trial, the right to defend one’s self, the right to privacy, freedom of conscience, freedom of expression, freedom of assembly and association, and the right to marry and have a family.

Traditionally when we think about civil liberties we think about how freedom can be taken away from the individual by the state.

So what are we to …

Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged , , , and | 13 Comments

What will the political fallout from the peers lobbying scandal be?

An intriguing report in today’s Sunday Times:

PEERS who avoid tax or have criminal convictions – such as Lord Archer and Lord Black – are to be expelled from the House of Lords in the wake of the lords for hire scandal.

The reforms are being drawn up by Jack Straw, the justice secretary, in an attempt to restore the Lords’ battered reputation after last weekend’s revelations in The Sunday Times. He plans to enact the legislation necessary to expel them before the general election…

Lord Ashcroft, the billionaire Tory donor, has repeatedly refused to confirm his tax status, while Lord Laidlaw,

Posted in News and Parliament | Also tagged , , , , , , and | 3 Comments
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Recent Comments

  • Chloe
    'The truth is that our freedoms are being subtly eroded in an era where emotion and sentiment are prized above reason and rationality'... KB...
  • David Allen
    "Starmer failed to communicate the home truths that the country needs to be told. Over promising led to under delivery." This doesn't quite cut it. One, bec...
  • Nonconformistradical
    "which is more than I can say for Ms Badenoch who was shrill and cheap in her remarks" I can't recall ever being impressed with anything she has said......
  • Chloe
    After Burnhams arrival at Westminster hall on a Donkey - given the adulation he received, maybe he's tired from such a long journey. As for Phillipson, she des...
  • David Raw
    Watched P.M.Q.'s today. Thought Sir Keir Starmer handled it well with great dignity - which is more than I can say for Ms Badenoch who was shrill and cheap in h...