Friday, June 23, 2006

Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom. It is the argument of tyrants; it is the creed of slaves.
- William Pitt the Younger, House of Commons, 18 November 1783.
So here we are today with the Home Office, understandably, under siege. And, of course, I don't say, for a moment that mistakes haven't been made, that competence or lack of it has not been a serious complaint. But I do say that it is a complete delusion to think that simply by changing Ministers, civil servants or practices, the gap I referred to earlier [between what the public expects and what the public sees], is going to be bridged. It isn't. I have learnt many things in 9 years of Government and that is one of them.
- Tony Blair argues that it is necessary to infringe human freedom to protect the "law-abiding majority", 23 June 2006.
We've travelled a long way since the Eighteenth Century. But in which direction are we moving now?

Time is pressing today. More on Blair's speech later. Possibly.

Tags: , , ,

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Absolutely. All tyrants plead a state of exception to justify their actions. All of these old-fashioned concepts such as due process and the rights of the accused are simply inappropriate for the unique dilemmas facing Tony.