The real threat to the life of the nation

[ciphergoth]

The real threat to the life of the nation, in the sense of a people living in accordance with its traditional laws and political values, comes not from terrorism but from laws such as these. That is the true measure of what terrorism may achieve. It is for Parliament to decide whether to give the terrorists such a victory.

(thanks to djm4)

Comments

[karen2205]

Except it's not for Parliament to decide - my understanding is that the current proposals (for more deportations) don't require Parliamentary approval at all since they can be done using executive powers which come from legislation Parliament has approved in the past. Unless there's a sucessful move to repeal the legislation under which Parliament granted the Home Secretary these powers, there's very little that can be done to prevent him using them.

Lord Hoffman's eloquent and above all completely correct, comments are from the case decided last December re imprisioning foreigners suspected of terrorist links, who can't be deported because their countries of origin aren't considered safe, without trial for indefinite periods of time.

[ciphergoth.livejournal.com]

I know the Hoffman quote was made in different circumstances, but it's such a good one it's worth repeating here...