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

  • Catherine Crosland
    Nick Baird, lives would clearly be saved if this bill is defeated - the lives of people who would be coerced into assisted dying, or opt for assisted dying beca...
  • Nick Baird
    Catherine - I don't accept that it is inevitable that people will be coerced into this. Nor do I accept that the distress that a terminally ill person may feel...
  • Graem Peters
    “Will it call on the UK to join?” may be deemed less significant by Trump than it was for Bush. The latter sought UK backing with international cover in min...
  • Catherine Crosland
    Nick Baird, There are no easy answers, but surely it is better to focus on improving palliative care, and also research towards finding preventions and cures f...
  • Nick Baird
    @Catherine Crosland - surely another valid question is how many people should be forced to endure pain, suffering and distress for up to an additional 6 months ...