Secret Trials, Surveillance and an Apology

That a government of which the Conservatives are the largest element should propose both more secret trials and more surveillance is frightening. Thank goodness that Tory backbenchers have strongly rejected both proposals. The vast majority of Labour backbenchers voted for each turn of the screw against our traditional liberties proposed by Blair but it is hardly surprising that now they are in opposition they are opposed to the government's proposals on secret trials and surveillance of emails etc. What do you expect from a bunch of opportunists? It also has to be said that the LibDems are against the proposals too. There are too many secret trials in this country already. I am thinking here particularly of the trials conducted in secret concerning child care where any number of results have been achieved which would never have occurred if these secret trials had been heard in public but with the names of the children and parents redacted. To introduce further trials in secret can only lead to an even greater scandal than presently exists. As every law student knows justice not only has to be done but has to be seen to be done, i.e. trials have to be held in public. Where state security is involved then, as happens now, that part of the trial relating to state security can be held in camera. Furthermore on the surveillance front why can't emails and so on be treated in the same way as tapping telephones, that is to say by obtaining the necessary warrant from the Home Secretary? Although I query whether the Home Secretary is the right person to handle warrant applications rather than a judge or perhaps a panel of judges. We all know how mistakes can be made and how some people will go to any length to try and cover them up. We all know how governments hate admitting wrongdoing. That is why except in the most exceptional cases all trials must be held in public and why individuals rights must be protected against the state. Openness is one of the absolute requirements needed to ensure that a state does not become oppressive and why the lack of it is one of the reasons why the EU is detested. Lack of openness is also one of the reasons why fanatical environmentalists are so mistrusted too. By contrast it is pleasing to say the least when someone owns up to a mistake and apologises. Charles Moore wrote an article in the Daily Telegraph on Saturday in which he attacked the private Tory party line that the stockpiling of petrol would be the government's 'Thatcher Moment'. He did not think his statement would be taken as having disclosed a secret document as all he was doing was to report the line MPs were using in their constituencies. He has apologised to the Tory leadership.