One aspect of New Labour’s attacks on civil liberties crashed to the ground this week when the government was forced to abandon its plans for interning people for up to 42 days without charge.
You might have thought George Bush’s administration had enough on its hands with the financial meltdown, but last week it was announced that the US air force is pressing ahead with a new generation of "intelligent" cluster bombs.
A banner reading "Inquest Not Cover-Up" hangs from flats near The Oval cricket ground, south London, where Southwark Coroner’s Court is sitting for three months.
Evidence at the High Court last week has revealed that once again the British government has being lying over the use of torture, and has been illegally kidnapping people as part of the "war on terror".
Hammaad Munshi became the youngest person convicted under the Terrorism Act this week. He was under police surveillance from the age of 16 and was found guilty along with two other men of "making a record of information likely to be useful in terrorism".
The House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee said last week, "The UK can no longer rely on US assurances that it does not use torture, and we recommend that the government does not rely on such assurances in the future."
There was cheering on the steps of Edinburgh’s high court on Tuesday morning as supporters heard that civil rights lawyer Aamer Anwar had been found not guilty of contempt of court.
Gordon Brown narrowly scraped home in a crucial parliamentary vote on 42-day internment last week. Britain now has the most draconian anti-terror laws in the Western world.
"When I was arrested at first I thought it was a joke. Then I realised – I’m a Muslim, I had the Al Qaida training manual on my computer, I could be locked up and disappear into Belmarsh or anywhere."
