'Oh, so that's who Richard Morris is..." Lord Hattersley on The Daily Politics

'An influential activist' - The Guardian

'Iain Dale, without the self loathing' - Matthew Fox in The New Statesman

'
You are a tinker...' - Tim Farron

Wednesday 24 April 2013

Communications data Bill: an open letter to Nick Clegg


Dear Nick

I fear I may have been a pain the backside in recent days, so apologies for that - but as you can probably tell, I feel passionately that we should veto any moves towards reintroducing the Communications Data Bill, unless and until it starts to roll back some of the State's powers in this area, rather than extending it.

You'll be well versed in the detailed arguments by now so I won't rehearse them all again now; but the basic principle is important to restate. Any Bill that increases the State's ability to track, record and read a citizen's thoughts and words is a retrograde step for civil liberties. While the system may never be abused here - which regretfully I suspect would not be the case - it opens the door to every government in the world for whom civil liberties is a force to be reduced and extinguished, the excuse to go down that road, citing us as the exampole they are following.

We simply cannot allow this to happen.

in the words of Benjamin Franklin, "Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety"

​Please veto this Bill

With best wishes

Richard Morris

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