Gavin’s Gaily Gigest

Have you attempted to travel, taken a photo of a landmark, used a computer or mobile phone or tried to hire some form of transport? Then you could be a terrorist. Report to your nearest police station immediately

The Metropolitan Police Service: The best form of defence is complete paranoia about absolutely everything.
Hat-tip: Helen Duffett [...]

[Read more →]

The Lib Dems (and the divine and by no means equine Chris Huhne) yesterday launched their new Freedom Bill. The successor to Clegg’s Great Repeal Act, the Bill would roll back 20 of the most insidious and authoritarian pieces of New Labour and Conservative legislation, including ID cards, control orders and the worst elements of [...]

[Read more →]

No2ID have a terrifying new campaign video:

www.no2id.net/TakeJane/ for more information.
(Hat-tip: Shane Greer).

[Read more →]

Alan West yesterday, hurriedly throwing his toys out of the pram following the government’s defeat in the Lords on 42 days detention, on the current terrorism threat facing the UK:
Some of the measures that we have put into place in the past 15 months have made us safer, but that does not mean that we [...]

[Read more →]

The House of Lords is due to vote today on whether to retain the government’s 42 day detention without charge provision, contained in the Counter-Terrorism bill. Thankfully, the government will likely lose, as they can’t offer peerages to peers.
To mark the occasion, Amnesty UK have released this video:

[Read more →]

Press release just received from the Home Office:
For security reasons, the Home Department for the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland wishes to advise its citizens the following activities are banned under the Suspicious Brown People and Their Evil Offspring Regulations 2008 (passed under the Terrorism Act 2006):

Studying chemistry and human biology
Taking your [...]

[Read more →]

I’ve got a new post up on the Total Politics blogs examining how much the Haltemprice and Howden byelection cost. It’s considerably less than the £207,000 the Daily Telegraph’s James Kirkup is quoting.

[Read more →]

Gordon Brown has responded to questions put to him on Downing Street’s Youtube channel (a bit late, as Guido has noted). My pick is this Q&A on 42 days and civil liberties:

[Read more →]

The Government’s 42 day detention proposals have been firmly rejected by voters, according to a new poll commissioned by the Joseph Rowntree Reform Trust. The ICM poll found just 36% support detention of terrorist suspects for up to six weeks, with the majority, 60%, favouring 28 days or fewer.
The findings come just a day before [...]

[Read more →]

Food-deprived lardarse Gordon Brown has a bit of a problem when it comes to the 42 days detention vote in the House of Lords: he can’t offer them a peerage and the overwhelming majority of lords aren’t too keen on the idea. So look out for the following constitutional reforms from our dynamic, overladen Prime [...]

[Read more →]