This bill is a shocker. Do not be deceived by Jack's title. It is a supermarket trolley full of bits of legislation that the government and the civil service want passed. As well as introducing the opportunity for a minister to decree that an inquest should be held in secret to protect the state, or its relations with foreign powers, it removes exemption for "discussion or criticism" in the new offence of inciting hatred on grounds of sexual orientation; it makes changes to legal aid; reforms bail in murder cases; extends the law of child pornography to include non-photographic images; and facilitates the sharing of personal data by all government departments.
The strategy is clear. Secret inquests will draw the fire on the bill and then - conveniently - there will be no time to debate the huge issue of uncontrolled sharing of personal information between government departments and agencies. As the Lords report on surveillance society stated two weeks ago: "The huge rise in surveillance and data collection by the state risks undermining the long-standing traditions of privacy and individual freedom which are vital for democracy."
READ MORE at:-
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/feb/15/mps-parliament-reform
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