The right to offend

Wednesday 23 September 2009,  Henry Porter's blog, guardian.co.uk

"Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion," says the Human Rights Act. This freedom includes "the right to manifest his (or her) religion or belief in worship, teaching, practice and observance." That's a fine aspiration but of course the Human Rights Act (HRA) isn't all it's cracked up to be by its supporters. Take the recent case of a 54-year-old nurse facing disciplinary action for wearing her confirmation cross, she was forced to accept an offer of redeployment to a non-nursing role at the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital.

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Waiter, there's a spy in my soup

Sunday 20 September 2009,  The Observer

Even when out for dinner in a restaurant, we are not free from snooping CCTV cameras

 

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The Tories' hidden authoritarian streak

Friday 18 September 2009,  Henry Porter's blog, guardian.co.uk

Dominic Grieve's policy paper Reversing the Rise of the Surveillance State is welcome but even though some important principles are expressed, it is difficult not to feel that the Conservatives are just doing enough to distinguish themselves from Labour before the next election.

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Libertarianism on the rise?

Thursday 17 September 2009,  Henry Porter's blog, guardian.co.uk

A poll run by PoliticsHome this week revealed a fascinating result to the question: "Do you think in general, the state has too much or too little of a say in what people can and cannot do?" Nearly four-fifths of the sample (79%) answered that the state had too much of a say, while only 8% believe the state has too little say.

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Presumed guilty

Tuesday 15 September 2009,  Henry Porter's blog, guardian.co.uk

There is a new phrase in law enforcement circles, although it is more about enforcing the state's prejudice than any law. It is the Potential Dangerous Person, or PDP. This label is given by Northumberland and Cleveland police forces to someone who is suspected of crimes but who has not been charged, let alone found guilty of an offence. Under this new designation they will be targeted as criminals, watched and no doubt harassed.

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We need to repeal 12 years of vile laws attacking our liberty

Sunday 13 September 2009,  The Observer

In its final gibbering months this government continues to wage its tyrannical war on freedom

 

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Searching children abuses terror laws

Friday 11 September 2009, Henry Porter's blog, guardian.co.uk

When police stop and search two children under anti-terror measures there can be little doubt that a law, designed to prevent terrorism, is being roundly abused by officers who seem to enjoy the authority to question any innocent citizen they care to pick on.

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Faked DNA evidence torpedoes certainty

Thursday 10 September 2009,  Henry Porter's blog, guardian.co.uk

For two decades the police and Home Office have insisted that DNA evidence is 100% reliable and that the frantic acquisition of DNA samples from innocent people, as well those convicted of a crime, will make Britain a safer place. But today, on the 25th anniversary of Sir Alec Jeffrey's discovery of the genetic fingerprint, its worth examining important new research from Israel which proves that DNA evidence can be manipulated and that DNA samples may be fabricated. A disturbing possibility for those whose DNA profiles are kept on the police national DNA database.

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ID cards: A new layer of compulsion

Friday 4 September 2009,  Henry Porter's blog, guardian.co.uk

A week or two away from the land of surveillance and you realise what a very strange place Britain has become. On my return from holiday I understood one frightening truth, which is that surveillance systems and databases have become as much a part of the country's infrastructure as the road or rail networks. No government, however liberal or determined, has the power to dismantle the apparatus that Labour has put in place.

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Drilling compliance into children

Wednesday 2 September 2009,  Henry Porter's blog, guardian.co.uk

No doubt some eyes among Salisbury's residents glided over the following little news story with a sense of reassurance but if you're like me you will find something deeply disturbing about it, especially in the unquestioning attitude of the newspaper. The reporter from the Salisbury Journal tells of an event held for schoolchildren at Salisbury Arts Centre with all the mild compliance of a trainee on the Communist party newspaper in east Berlin.

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Cheltenham Festival: Henry Porter and Gavin Esler

Sunday 11 October 2009, 2 pm, Town Hall, Cheltenham Festival

Political Fictions: Gavin Esler and Henry Porter discuss the challenges of translating current affairs into fiction...

Read more and book online here...

 

 
Waterstone's events: An Evening with Henry Porter

September 16 2009, 7:00PM - 9:00PM, Waterstone's Notting Hill Gate

The local author, Observer columnist and editor of Vanity Fair in the UK talks about the current political climate as well as his new thriller, 'The Dying Light'.

For complimentary tickets contact This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it  

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