I Fear The Government

The BBC is reporting on John Reid's latest attempts to remove democracy from the UK.

Despite having the powers to hold suspects for 28 days, the Government is pushing to extend that. When they last tried - to extend it to 90 days - Tony Blair experienced his first defeat in the House of Commons.

Now, while I understand the claims that there are exceptional circumstances whereby the police are unable to ascertain whether or not someone is a criminal in 28 days, I worry about a situation where the Government can basically identify anyone as a potential terrorist and get them locked up for an indefinite period of time without charging them.

Disagree with the Government? Terrorist. Look likely to be popular enough to get elected? Terrorist. Believe that you have the right to demonstrate? Terrorist. Wish to keep a modicum of privacy in your life? Obviously you have something to hide, terrorist!

Fortunately, the opposition parties aren't falling into the trap of thinking they'll look "weak" on crime and blindly agreeing with these proposals, so it will be interesting to see if and how the Government pushes them into law.