Writing for the Comment is Free section of the Guardian, Henry Porter discusses the current UK government's track record on civil liberties - or, more accurately, the apparent removal of many of our freedoms by stealth.
I feel quite strongly about this subject, and have written about it in the past. I'm not a great believer in conspiracy theories, and I don't spend my time fretting that the government is out to get me, but, this gradual erosion of basic rights and liberties - which go back centuries in some cases - is deeply worrying. Maybe, this government are telling the truth and are only doing these things because they believe they will protect the people of this country. Maybe, they would never dream of using these powers for any malign purpose, but that doesn't mean a future, less ethical government would behave in the same way.







