Internationally recognised human rights standards are an essential benchmark for anyone who seeks an informed view on the laws governing terrorism, surveillance and extremism. But contrary to the belief propagated by some, those standards do not amount to unrealistic aspirations, dreamed up by out-of-touch academics. Nor do they unthinkingly prioritise individual rights over our responsibilities to each other. The ECHR, as interpreted by [...]
During this General Election campaign there have been several disputes over the application of pre-election purdah - ironically, a practice that was specifically designed to avoid imbroiling the Civil Service in controversy. My own last report as Independent Reviewer, on Deportation with Assurances, fell victim to purdah and has not yet been published, despite being submitted to the Government in final [...]
My article about Brexit and Security ("Terrorism: the EU picture") has just been published in Counsel Magazine. In summary: The leadership role in the EU exercised by the UK in matters relating to security (in particular counter-terrorism) will inevitably be lost after Brexit. There are reasons to hope that broadly satisfactory arrangements can be made for [...]
I had the great honour of giving the annual address at the annual Suffolk Justice Service in Bury St Edmunds Cathedral on 12 March 2017 - at the conclusion of my final term as Independent Reviewer, and just a few days before the attack in Westminster presaged the UK's worst year for terrorism since 2005. The two previous addresses, by Supreme Court [...]
I lectured to the Hart Judicial Review conference in December on recent developments in the case law concerning terrorism, surveillance and extremism. My handout is here and the accompanying PowerPoint presentation is here.
