In support of the Magna Carta and Civil Liberties

Civil rights are slowly being constrained in the UK. Many citizens are unaware of the relative significance that the Magna Carta revised in 1297 holds today in relation to our civil liberties. It's importance cannot be stressed enough, nor has it been stressed enough by the government.

The 42 day detention for terrorist suspects without charge breaches not only human rights laid out in supranational legislation e.g. UN human rights treaty (signed by the UK) but also the Human Rights Act (1998) and the European Convention on Human Rights.

We cannot allow this abuse to continue. It is already the case that we are losing our liberties in the name of terrorism. The terrorists wish to change our way of life, and by remaining passive against a government that appears to subscribe itself to this philosophy should no longer be regarded as a viable option. We, the citizens, are able to take action when our liberties are breached, we are the electorate who put our representatives in power. When they do something that violates our being, we should, as Burke said, "kick the rascals out".

People do fear terrorism, I fear terrorism, that is understandable, but we should not be comfortable giving away our liberties so freely. The terrorists would therefore win, our liberties would be changed and we cannot allow this to happen.

Under the 42 day detention bill, one faces being locked up for 6 weeks without charge, being branded a 'terrorist' since one would be held under the 'Act', possibly losing a job and friends as fallout, and left without access to relatives and lawyers. Of course, one should not forget all this information would go onto the governments 'new fangled' ID cards, scrapped post WW2 because, as Lord Chief Justice of the High Court cautioned in 1951, legislation extended beyond its intentions “tended to turn law-abiding subjects into law breakers, which was most undesirable, and the good relations between the police and the public would be likely to suffer”. Perhaps such a case as the 42 day detention would be a repeat?