Using
Magna Carta to justify Human Rights Act repeal ‘insult to British
history’ – Amnesty
15
June, 2015
Tory
plans to sever ties with the European Court of Human Rights by
repealing the Human Rights Act and replacing it with a British Bill
of Rights will protect the legacy of a 13th century piece of
parchment Britons should be proud of, David Cameron says.
Cameron
made the remark at a ceremonial event commemorating the 800th
anniversary of the Magna Carta in Runnymede, Surrey. Historians say
the spot, located near Windsor, was where King John of England sealed
the charter in 1215.
Penned
in Medieval Latin, the 3,500-word Magna Carta is interpreted by some
as the world’s first declaration of the rule of law. It was drafted
by the Archbishop of Canterbury to broker peace between King John and
25 progressive English barons, who sought a fairer system of
governance.
Like the Holy Grail, the myth of Magna Carta seems to matter more than the reality.http://t.co/NgaldyTj78 pic.twitter.com/gia7t5vrrl
— NYT Opinion (@nytopinion) June 15, 2015
The
archaic charter promised access to swift avenues of justice,
protection against the illegal detainment of barons and caps on
feudal payments to the Crown.
Addressing
crowds at Runnymede, Cameron said the document heralded democracy as
we know it.
He
went on to claim the “good
name” of
human rights has been manipulated and eroded in Britain in recent
years.
“For
centuries, Magna Carta has been quoted to help promote human rights
and alleviate suffering all around the world,” he
said.
“But
here in Britain ironically, the place where those ideas were first
set out, the good name of human rights has sometimes been distorted
and devalued,” the
PM continued.
Cameron
said the task of reviving the reputation of these rights lies with
this generation. He said Britain’s legal system is key to this
objective.
“It
is our duty to safeguard the legacy, the idea, the momentous
achievement of those barons. And there couldn’t be a better time to
reaffirm that commitment than on an anniversary like this,” he
said.
As we celebrate its 800th anniversary, we must pledge to keep #MagnaCarta's principles alive for future generations pic.twitter.com/TFN3aO4Y1Q
— David Cameron (@David_Cameron) June 15, 2015
Cameron’s
remarks have angered human rights advocates in Britain, particularly
Labour and Conservative ex-lord chancellors, who warn against
dismantling the Human Rights Act and breaking away from the ECHR.
Speaking
to RT on Monday, Amnesty International UK’s Head of Policy and
Government Affairs Allan Hogarth accused the PM of hijacking a
historical event to further the Conservative agenda.
“David
Cameron’s use of the anniversary of Magna Carta to justify
scrapping the Human Rights Act will have those 13th-century barons
spinning in their highly-ornate, lead-lined coffins,” he said.
“Any
move to scrap the Act would be a real blow for human rights in this
country and around the world.”
Hogarth
warned the Human Rights Act must not be discarded on a whim.
“Ordinary
people across the world are still fighting for the rights we enjoy in
the UK – we must not let politicians take away these hard-won
rights at the stroke of a pen,” he
said.
“Rather
than grandstanding at Runnymede, the prime minister should be
standing up for human rights at home and abroad.”
800 years on from #MagnaCarta, our human rights are under threat. Stop the rollback:http://t.co/YZr1DKaJaV pic.twitter.com/mOZso2u07M
— Amnesty UK (@AmnestyUK) June 15, 2015
Speaking
to crowds at Monday's Magna Carta event, Cameron claimed the charter
changed the world.
“The
limits of executive power, guaranteed access to justice, the belief
that there should be something called the rule of law, that there
shouldn’t be imprisonment without trial – Magna Carta introduced
the idea that we should write these things down and live by them,” he
said.
“That
might sound like a small thing to us today. But back then, it was
revolutionary, altering forever the balance of power between the
governed and the government.”
However,
Professor of Medieval History at the University of East Anglia
Nicholas Vincent told the New York Times the Magna Carta is “a
load of trip.”
“The
myth of Magna Carta lies at the whole origin of our perception of who
we are as an English-speaking people, freedom-loving people who’ve
lived with a degree of liberty and under a rule of law for 800
years,” he
said.
“It’s
a load of tripe, of course. But it’s a very useful myth.”
Labour
leadership contender and shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper accused
Cameron of trying to “hijack” the ceremony.
“The
Prime Minister is trying to hijack this important celebration of
Magna Carta to push his ill-thought-through plans for abolishing the
Human Rights Act,” she
said, warning the move “demeans
his office.”
David Cameron champions #MagnaCarta but three years ago he didn't even know what it meant pic.twitter.com/e8rHG5FaKH
— The Independent (@Independent) June 15, 2015
Neither
King John nor the 13th century rebel barons, who were central to the
Magna Carta’s founding, upheld its terms. The age-old charter was
eventually scrapped by Pope Innocent III, sparking the First Barons’
War.
In
2012, critics slammed Cameron for being historically illiterate after
it emerged the PM knew little of the Magna Carta.
Cameron
embarrassed himself live on air in an interview with the Late Show’s
David Letterman, after the presenter quizzed him on British history.
Asked
for the translation of Magna Carta (Latin for ‘the Great Charter’)
Cameron fell silent, unable to offer a response.
UK
Says Happy Birthday to Magna Carta but Goodbye to Human Rights
The
800th anniversary of the Magna Carta is being celebrated in Britain
at a time when critics of the Conservative government say ministers
are eroding democracy and human rights with new surveillance laws and
moves to scrap the Human Rights Act.
15
June, 2015
The
Magna Carta — was imposed upon King John in 1215
by a group of subjects — the barons —
to limit his powers by law and protect their rights. Last
year David Cameron said that it "paved the way for democracy,
equality, respect and the law that makes Britain, Britain."
As we celebrate its 800th anniversary, we must pledge to keep #MagnaCarta's principles alive for future generations pic.twitter.com/TFN3aO4Y1Q
— David Cameron (@David_Cameron) June 15, 2015
Delivering
a speech to commemorate the Magna Carta, David Cameron said the
charter had "further relevance today."
"For
centuries, it has been quoted to help promote human rights and
alleviate suffering all around the world. But here in Britain,
ironically, the place where those ideas were first set out, the good
name of 'human rights' has sometimes become distorted and devalued.
It falls to us in this generation to restore the
reputation of those rights — and their critical
underpinning of our legal system. It is our duty to safeguard
the legacy, the idea, the momentous achievement of those
barons."
"And
there couldn't be a better time to reaffirm that commitment
than on an anniversary like this."
Magna Carta lasted 800 years & now Western gov's are trying to rescind it#SnoopersCharter #NSA #NDAA #C51 pic.twitter.com/U4f1ho2dPA
— Ian56 (@Ian56789) June 15, 2015
But
while David Cameron today hails the magnificence of the Magna
Carta and its values, only last month he revealed the party's
steadfast intention to scrap the Human Rights Act and
replace it with a British Bill of Rights and
Responsibilities.
The intention is to limit the power that the European Court of Human Rights has over courts in Britain.
The intention is to limit the power that the European Court of Human Rights has over courts in Britain.
— Occupy London (@OccupyLondon) June 15, 2015
800 years on from #MagnaCarta, our human rights are under threat. Stop the rollback:http://t.co/YZr1DKaJaV pic.twitter.com/mOZso2u07M
— Amnesty UK (@AmnestyUK) June 15, 2015
And
speaking on the 800th Anniversary of the Magna Carta,
Stephen Bowen, Director of the British Institute of Human
Rights, said:
"For
centuries, the Magna Carta has stood for the idea that
government power is subject to the rule of law. Today, the
most fitting tribute to the Magna Carta would be for the
government to scrap its plans to scrap our Human Rights
Act, which protects us all from the power of the state."
"That
would truly demonstrate that the legacy of Magna Carta is not
simply legend but lives on here at home."
Persecuting Whistleblowers, Greenpeace at War with Shell and Undemocratic Elections
Afshin goes underground with Norman Solomon, founder of the Institute for Public Accuracy on the persecution of whistleblowers and the fear that leads to self-censorship of the press. And with a 75 percent chance of an oil spill, we break the ice with Greenpeace over Shell drilling for oil in the Arctic. Plus, were you one of the 24 percent who voted Cameron into Downing Street? Or would you have preferred to vote ‘None of the Above?’ NOTA UK founder Jamie Stanley argues the electoral system is broken.
Behind
the Magna Carta spin, Britain's 'dictatorship of the 1%' is taking
shape
A
consistent pattern is emerging in the UK government's plans and
policies, writes Paul Mobbs: the stripping away of human rights and
freedoms; the detachment of public institutions from democratic
accountability; an increase of the powers of the state; and the
empowerment of corporations at the expense of people. We must act to
preserve our liberties, while we still can.
Paul
Mobbs
11
June, 2015
What
do academy schools, fracking and international trade negotiations
have in common?
They're
all part of the Conservative Government's agenda to roll back the
ability of the public to question official policy, and to allow
business interests to press ahead with their questionable economic
projects unchallenged.
As
Britain celebrates the 800th anniversary of the signing of the Magna
Carta in June 1215 [1],
an unprecedented dilution of democratic power, written into law under
the last Con-Dem administration, has been enacted.
For
example, in 2014 there was widespread public objection to the
Government's'care.data'
scheme [2],
which allows the use of NHS patient medical records by a range of
private organisations.
The
ability of the NHS to pass data to companies, outside the normal
controls of data protection law, had been given legal sanction under
the Health
and Social Care Act 2012[3]
- which effectively privatized
the health service [4].
With
much fanfare, and an expressed will to 'protect patient choice', the
Government granted an opt-out for those who did not want their
sensitive personal medical data shared. Then in early 2015 it emerged
that the opt-outs
were being disregarded [5]
because NHS service contractors - essential to the Government's
privatization plans - could not access NHS patient data under the
terms of the pt-out.
In
June 2015 it was quietly acknowledged that the 700,000
patients who had opted-out[6]
were deliberately having their wishes deliberately ignored to
save money [7].
Behind
the smokescreen, a hard right ideological agenda
The
'care.data' plan opt-outs had been a public relations smokescreen.
Behind it the Government continued to purposefully pursue a wider
ideological agenda - and of course ideology does not require
objective evidence to validate its objectives.
In
May 2015, the new Conservative Government outlined new proposals
which will further restrict the public's rights to be consulted, to
object, and to challenge actions by the state. These will constrain
the public's rights to participate in and object to Government policy
even further.
The Queen's
Speech contained [8]
a list of proposed
laws [9],
the majority of which do not focus on making our society more
inclusive. From imposing further restrictions
on unions [10],
to the mass
collection of data [11],
to redefining the term "extremist" to
cover non-violent
dissent [12]
- the focus of these new laws is on removing or diluting the public
rights to review decisions, increasing the dictatorial power of the
state.
One
of the measures, based upon the shakiest of evidence, is
the Education
and Adoption Bill [13].
This seeks to increase the number of academy schools - even where the
parents[14]
or the
governors [15]
of a school strongly object to the change.
"Parents
of course have every right and should be very interested in their
child's education, but there also comes a point to say when the
education is being held back, progress that children make is being
held back due to legal processes and judicial reviews and appeals and
actually I think what most parents want is their child to make
progress ... "
If
based on objectively measured evidence of 'progress', the Education
Secretary would have an argument to press this case. That 'progress'
is, however, questionable [17],
and is not based upon clear evidence of improvements brought about by
academy status.
As
stated in the summary of the (Conservative chaired) Commons Education
Select Committee's report
published in January 2015 [18]
-
There
is a complex relationship between attainment, autonomy, collaboration
and accountability. Current evidence does not allow us to draw
conclusions on whether academies in themselves are a positive force
for change.
We
saw this same over-riding of local concern over issues such
as 'fracking' [19]
under the last Government.
The
deliberate erosion of British human rights
What
is less well understood are the subtle changes which have enabled the
imposition of these policies - which will worsen as these new laws
take effect. Little by little, they are eroding the body of British
civil rights which have developed over the last seventy years.
This
attack on the public's ability to keep a check on Government power
was outlined by David Cameron in a speech
to the CBI [20]
in November 2012.
As
his speech detailed, today we find that: public consultation has been
cut; laws, such as the 'care.data' proposals, are being force through
with little check on their impacts; and the public's rights to access
the courts has been curtailed.
This
will have a chilling effect on our democracy in future, even without
the changes currently in the pipeline.
This
last aspect - reducing our ability to access the courts - is perhaps
the most damaging to our democratic process. Legal aid cuts have
stripped many people of their basic human rights to access
the justice system [21].
Our ability as citizens to challenge decision-making directly,
through judicial review, has also been
deliberately weakened [22]
to give the Government greater power.
The
last phase of that process, under the Criminal
Justice and Courts Act 2015 [23],
was commenced just before the election. This changes ancient
traditions - such as only having one magistrate presiding over cases
instead of three. Other changes mean that rights to judicial review
only apply to those with a direct interest in the issue, and under a
range of limiting conditions.
Also,
if a person 'crowd sources' the funding for a court case in order to
get over the barrier of the high costs involved, then in future every
one of the people providing a contribution will be personally liable
for costs if the case fail.
Criminalising
'non-violent extremism', increasing power to snoop
Perhaps
the most chilling issue in the pipeline is the much talked about
'extremism' legislation. The problem here, as outlined in the Home
Secretary's speech
to the Conservative Party conference [24]
in September 2014, is that the Government want to
control "non-violent
extremism" [25].
How
can 'non-violence' be considered extreme? At what point does
advocating non-violence policy change become 'extreme'? At what point
does the human right of 'free speech' become 'extremism' if it does
not involve the use of or incitement to violence?
These
are very dangerous ideas because the Government does not base its
arguments upon clear objective criteria, but upon acts
which "undermine
British values".
That is of course something that varies subjectively according to
your political outlook and social background. With an increasingly
illiberal, reactionary Government, this clash over 'values' is
critical to how these changes will be enacted in law.
In
parallel to this, the ability to police 'non-violent extremism' will
be augmented [26]
by the Government's updated 'snoopers
charter' [27].
Just
as law-makers in the USA are beginning to let the
post-11/9 surveillance
powers lapse [28],
in Britain the Government is paving the way for a new generation of
computer-based 'big
data' [29]
surveillance technologies to be created and deployed
against the public [30].
In
the modern world we no longer, as citizens, talk about 'civil
liberties' [31].
Instead today's civil liberties debate is often centred
upon 'privacy' [32]
as the single exemplar of personal freedom.
In
many ways, in our technological
society [33],
'privacy' has come to replace the concepts once described within the
historic debate over 'liberty' - since it is the imposition of those
technological oversight mechanisms which have the greatest impact
upon our everyday lives.
The
problem is participation in the modern 'wired' economy requires us to
trade away our privacy, whether we like it or not. The Government's
anti-extremism agenda also requires us to trade our personal privacy
for alleged 'security' - even though the Government's existing
policies are statistically
far more threatening [34]
to our personal health and well-being than any combination of terror
threats.
As
a result, that negation of 'privacy' necessarily means a dilution of
our traditional 'civil liberty'. From the privatization of the NHS
and 'care.data', to the tightening grip of the' security
state' [35],
our privacy is being either ignored
or diluted [36]
- in the name of greater administrative efficiency, or to enable
anti-terror or extremism measures.
Who's
calling the shots here? Certainly not the 99%
Given
the increasing dominance of corporate interests in the financing of
our political parties, what this inevitably means is enacting the
diktats of the
'1%' [37]
rather than policies which benefits everyone across society. That's
because, under this new system, the '1%' are the only ones with money
to access to the courts, and fund politicians, to protect their
interests.
The
Government's support for the Transatlantic
Trade and Investment Partnership [38]
(TTIP), effectively dis-empowering the public's collective
interest in
favour of private interests [39],
will exacerbate this process if it is enacted.
That
situation is, of course, made far worse the recent reforms to our
abilities to access the courts and legal aid - because we cannot
enforce what putative rights we may have.
Whether
it is the issue of fracking, or health privatization, or the
Government's increasingly dictatorial methods of enacting policy, all
these issues have become a civil rights struggle - one which requires
the public to unite against their unrepresentative
political masters [40].
Slowly,
like the proverbial frog in a saucepan, Britain is sliding towards a
dictatorial rule by the state, very much along the lines of that
predicted by Aldous
Huxley 50 years ago[41]:
"Only
a large-scale popular movement toward decentralization and self-help
can arrest the present tendency toward statism. A really efficient
totalitarian state would be one in which the all-powerful executive
of political bosses and their army of managers control a population
of slaves who do not have to be coerced,
because they love their
servitude. To make them love it is the task assigned, in present-day
totalitarian states, to ministries of propaganda, newspaper editors
and schoolteachers."
Whatever your
personal interest [42]
these changes require a public
response [43]
from each one of us ...
Do
you have the will to directly challenge the dismantling of our
democratic rights?
Paul
Mobbs is
an independent environmental consultant, investigator, author and
lecturer, and maintains the Free Range Activism Website (FRAW).
References:
- NHS: 'The care data system - Your health and care records' -http://www.nhs.uk/NHSEngland/thenhs/records/healthrecords/Pages/care-data.aspx
- Wikipedia: 'Health and Social Care Act 2012' -https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_and_Social_Care_Act_2012
- NHS disregards patient requests to opt out of sharing medical records, Randeep Ramesh, Guardian On-line, 22nd January 2015 -http://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/jan/22/nhs-disregards-patients-requests-sharing-medical-records
- Nearly 1 million patients could be having confidential data shared against their wishes, Peter Dominiczak, Telegraph On-line, 5th June 2015 -http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/health/news/11655777/Nearly-1million-patients-could-be-having-confidential-data-shared-against-their-wishes.html
- NHS blows £5 MILLION on delayed Care.data, Ket Hall, The Register, 2nd June 2015 -http://www.theregister.co.uk/2015/06/02/nhs_blows_5_million_on_caredata/
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- Labour funding will be hit hard by changes to political levy system, Patrick Wintour, Guardian On-line, 27th May 2015 -http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/may/27/labour-funding-hit-change-political-levy-bill
- Security services' powers to be extended in wide-ranging surveillance bill, Alan Travis, Guardian On-line, 27th May 2015 - http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/may/27/security-services-investigatory-powers-bill
- If 'non-violent extremists' can't express their views at universities, where can they?, Geoffrey Alderman, The Spectator, 4th March 2015 -http://blogs.spectator.co.uk/coffeehouse/2015/03/one-mans-extremist-is-another-mans-purveyor-of-common-sense/
- Policy paper - Queen's Speech 2015: 'Education and Adoption Bill', Prime Minister's Office/Cabinet Office, 27th May 2015 -https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/queens-speech-2015-what-it-means-for-you/queens-speech-2015-what-it-means-for-you#education-and-adoption-bill
- Education bill to close 'loopholes' blocking academies expansion, Richard Adams and Frances Perraudin, Guardian On-line, 3rd June 2015 -http://www.theguardian.com/education/2015/jun/03/education-bill-loopholes-academies-schools
- Education Bill is an 'extraordinary attack' on free speech, says campaigner, Freddie Whittaker, Schools Week, 4th June 2015 - http://schoolsweek.co.uk/education-bill-forces-support-for-academies/
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- Nicky Morgan is wrong - the evidence for academies doesn't add up, Henry Stewart, Guardian On-line, 3rd June 2015 -http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/jun/03/nicky-morgan-wrong-evidence-academies-bill
- Academies and free schools, Fourth Report of Session 2014-15, Commons Education Select Committee, 21st January 2015 -http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201415/cmselect/cmeduc/258/258.pdf
- Fracking - you are not important, Paul Mobbs, The Ecologist, 24th June 2014 -http://www.theecologist.org/blogs_and_comments/commentators/2450429/fracking_you_are_not_important.html
- Prime Minister's Speech to the CBI, Cabinet Office/Prime Minister's Office, 19th November 2012 - https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/prime-ministers-speech-to-cbi
- Open letter condemns legal aid cuts, calls on new government to restore justice, Owen Bowcott, Guardian On-line, 1st May 2015 -http://www.theguardian.com/law/2015/may/01/open-letter-judges-peers-restore-legal-aid-incoming-government-justice
- Judicial Review reform: An attack on our legal rights?, Clive Coleman, BBC News, 1st December 2014 - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-30226781
- Wikipedia: 'Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015' -https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criminal_Justice_and_Courts_Act_2015
- Theresa May vows Tory government would introduce 'snooper's charter', Alan Travis, Guardian On-line, 30th September 2014 -http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/sep/30/theresa-may-tory-government-snoopers-charter
- Policy paper - Queen's Speech 2015: 'Extremism Bill' -https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/queens-speech-2015-what-it-means-for-you/queens-speech-2015-what-it-means-for-you#extremism-bill
- Policy paper - Queen's Speech 2015: 'Investigatory Powers Bill' -https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/queens-speech-2015-what-it-means-for-you/queens-speech-2015-what-it-means-for-you#investigatory-powers-bill
- Snoopers' charter set to return to law as Theresa May suggests Conservative majority could lead to huge increase in surveillance powers, Andrew Griffin, Independent On-line, 8th May 2015 - http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/snoopers-charter-set-to-return-to-law-as-theresa-may-suggests-conservative-majority-could-lead-to-huge-increase-in-surveillance-powers-10235578.html
- NSA reform: Bush-era powers expire as US prepares to roll back surveillance, Dan Roberts, Ben Jacobs and Spencer Ackerman, Guardian On-line, 1st June 2015 -http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/may/31/nsa-reform-senate-deal-as-patriot-act
- Surveillance, Snowden, and Big Data: Capacities, consequences, critique, Big Data & Society, July-December 2014 -http://bds.sagepub.com/content/spbds/1/2/2053951714541861.full.pdf
- US transparency over state surveillance puts British efforts to shame, Emma Carr, City AM, 2nd June 2015 - http://www.cityam.com/216889/us-transparency-over-state-surveillance-puts-british-efforts-shame
- How we're fighting back against the UK surveillance state - and winning, Glyn Moody, Ars Technica, 22nd May 2015 - http://arstechnica.co.uk/tech-policy/2015/05/how-were-fighting-back-against-the-uk-surveillance-state-and-winning/
- Britain's real 'terror threat': eco-sceptic politicians, Paul Mobbs, The Ecologist, 3rd September 2014 -http://www.theecologist.org/blogs_and_comments/commentators/2540855/britains_real_terror_threat_ecosceptic_politicians.html
- UK Academics pen open letter regarding state surveillance, FIRM Magazine, 25th May 2015 - http://www.firmmagazine.com/uk-academics-pen-open-letter-state-surveillance/
- Wikipedia: 'Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership' -https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transatlantic_Trade_and_Investment_Partnership
- The obscure legal system that lets corporations sue countries, Claire Provost and Matt Kennard, Guardian On-line, 10th June 2015 -http://www.theguardian.com/business/2015/jun/10/obscure-legal-system-lets-corportations-sue-states-ttip-icsid
- The 2015 General Election: A voting system in crisis, Jess Garland And Chris Terry, Electoral Reform Society, June 2015 - http://www.electoral-reform.org.uk/blog/system-crisis
- Fracktured Accountability: A study of political decision-making and unconventional fossil fuel interests in the Coalition Government, Paul Mobbs/MEI, March 2015 -http://www.fraw.org.uk/mei/archive/fracktured_accountability/index.shtml
- YouTube: 'Arrest the Cabinet', Clear Blue Films/Gathering Place Films, March 2015 -https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tc1ESFg4fkA
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