We awoke to the extraordinary news that Julian Assange had announced he’d leave the Ecuadorian embassy in London tomorrow and submit to arrest if the UN working group on arbitrary detention turned down his complaint to […]

I’m sorry it’s taken me so long to comment on the Court of Appeal’s judgment in R(Mohamed) v Foreign Secretary. People usually claim to hate saying they told you so. I love saying it if I’m honest, but only […]

Thanks to David Mery for pointing me to this video of Ms. Abbott’s award-winning speech. What a brilliant medium the web is, eh?

While we’re on 42 days, let’s think back to when the Commons debated the issue back in June. At the time I thought Diane Abbott’s speech stood out; and I’m not alone, because it won her the Spectator’s Parliamentary […]

On Wednesday in the Court of Appeal, Mohamed Raissi successfully resisted the police’s appeal against his successful action for wrongful arrest and false imprisonment, having been arrested shortly after 9/11 together with his brother, Lotfi, and his sister […]

So finally, the government has given up on its plan to extend police powers to detain terror suspects without charge to a maximum of 42 days: the Home Secretary has said she’ll drop the clauses from the Bill when […]

Last month you may remember I wrote about the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s threat to go to court claiming the Counter-Terrorism Bill is incompatible with Convention rights, and mentioned that Jacqui Smith had written to CEHR boss Trevor Phillips […]

In my blawg radio silence earlier this week I received a couple of reader requests to deal with vital topics of the day. The first, from an estimable legal lady whose handbag bulges with law reports and Heat […]

I spoke to Charon QC earlier about the 42 days, the government’s grubby deals, prospects for the Counter-Terrorism Bill in the Lords, and a bit about the Irish referendum on the Lisbon Treaty, too. You can hear the podcast […]

I’m enjoying watching Lord Goldsmith, who’s Andrew Neil’s guest on the Daily Politics today. He’s a serious chap more suited to Newsnight or Today than to joshing about the way Andrew Neil does – but he’s doing his best.