Mike Harris from the influential pressure group Index on Censorship interviewed me recently on a wide range of issues from civil liberties to public mistrust in the political class, and Russian human rights abuses.
You can read the interview here.
Category Archives: Debates
A Good Day for British Justice
Yesterday, the Home Secretary blocked the extradition of Aspergers sufferer, Gary McKinnon, to face charges in the US, having admitted he hacked Pentagon computers in search of UFOs and aliens. As well as sympathising with Gary – and his fantastic mother Janis, who campaigned so tenaciously for him – the case highlights flaws in the UK-US extradition regime. In particular, in cross-border cases – like the McKinnon, Tappin and O’Dwyer cases – I have long argued the location of jurisdiction should be decided according to clear legal rules in open court, not by haggling prosecutors based on policy or political expediency behind closed doors. So, I was pleased to hear the Home Secretary announce plans for a new ‘forum’ test designed to address just that. It will serve the interests of British justice and help de-politicise this kind of case, removing a thorn in the side of the special relationship.
The day before, the Home Secretary also announced Britain would exercise its bloc opt out from 130 crime and policing measures, to halt the UK sleep-walking down the path to a pan-European criminal code enforced by an EU Public Prosecutor and interpreted by the ECJ in Luxembourg. This was a response to a campaign I led, backed by over 100 MPs, as reported earlier this year here. Critically, we can opt back into any individual measure that is vital for law enforcement cooperation. This is an important chance to press for re-negotiation of the flawed European Arrest Warrant (the EAW). If you think we have seen rough justice under the US treaty, it is nothing compared to the number and character of injustices under the EAW. We’ll need to scrutinise carefully the government’s approach – but finally we have a chance to secure the modest safeguards we need and a healthy dose of common sense.
At last, we have a Home Secretary prepared to stand up and fight for British citizens and British standards of justice. I led the debate last December that secured a unanimous House of Commons vote in favour of US and EAW extradition reform. So, as well as a good day for British justice, it is a good day for British democracy.
Reality Check of a Global Century
This week from the Conservative Party conference in Birmingham, I had a chance to plug Britannia Unchained (a new book co-authored with four of my colleagues). It has served as classic fodder for the lively ‘fringe’ debates – outside the main hall – that allow new ideas and arguments to be given fresh voice and scrutiny.
I was intrigued to see so many Guardian journalists turn up to listen in – a compliment of sorts although they heartily disagree with our prognosis of the challenges Britain faces in the twenty-first century. In truth, we have been predictably subject to something of a concerted attack by the paper, including a book review by Labour policy supremo John Cruddas. At least, today, the paper gave me an opportunity to rebut the rebuttal, and you can read my article here.
Any Questions?
Last night I went on Radio 4’s Any Questions with Mark Serwotka, Stephen Twigg and Claire Fox.
We were asked about Ed Miliband’s One Nation speech, the West Coast Main Line bid, Jimmy Savil and the Ebacc.
You can listen in here.
Hardtalk Interview
I was invited to be interviewed on BBC’s Hardtalk show this week, which addressed the economy, cuts, Europe, coalition and the Conservative Party.
You can watch the interview here.
Rough Justice under Blunt UK Extradition Laws?
The Economist has a good article this week, here, on the looming decision on extradition reform.
Parliament will have opportunities to address both the US arrangements and the European Arrest Warrant this winter. I see it as important that we insert a few modest safeguards to protect innocent citizens from effectively being hung out to dry.
Strike Law Reform
I have previously made the case – debating in Parliament and writing for The Times – that we need reform to prevent a militant minority of union bosses from abusing their strike powers, which damage the economy and disrupt the hard-working majority.
We recently saw Mark Serwotka’s PCS Union threaten to disrupt the Olympics with just 11% of suppoprt from its membership. Last year saw the most working days lost to strikes in over 20 years.
So, I was interested to see that public support for this safeguard is rising – The Sunday Times YouGov poll at the weekend found people support the change by a ratio of 3 to 1. This week, I discussed the issue on the BBC here.
Should we worry about the Brain Drain?
I have written an article addressing this question for today’s London Evening Standard.
You can read it here.
Local Interview with Geoff Marshall
I am starting a new initiative of letting local constituents from all walks of life interview me for a short podcast. I plan to do one every couple of months – with local businessmen, students, people working in the charitable sector and anyone else who is interested in putting their MP through his paces. The aim is to enable those who are not really involved in party politics to get their point or questions across.
First up is Geoff Marshall. I knocked on Geoff’s door during the 2010 election and we had a great chat and stayed in touch ever since. I didn’t know it at the time, but Geoff was previously Managing Director of Body Shop UK and Terrence Conran UK, so he has enormous business experience. He has also served as a magistrate, so has clear views on the criminal justice system.
The format for these interviews, more generally, is that people can ask me what they like (without pre-notification of the questions!). I don’t edit the video, so you get an unvarnished conversation. I will try to keep them to about 5-6 minutes. In this case, I’m afraid that Geoff and I nattered on for a fair bit longer, so I have split it into two parts. The first covers the economy, the second foreign policy and the criminal justice system.
Should we abandon the Debt Target?
Economic forecasters now question whether Britain is on target to meet the coalition’s target to see national government debt falling by the end of this Parliament. Should we abandon it, or redouble our efforts?
I have written a piece for City AM this morning, making the case for sticking to a key pledge. You can read it here.