Governments have a duty to take steps to protect citizens from terrorism, but this does not justify side-stepping democratic values.
 
Since the Prevention of Terrorism Acts of the 1970s terrorism laws have done little to ensure that we are safe from terrorist attack, but much to infringe the human rights and civil liberties of those living in the UK.
 
- After 9/11 the Government introduced indefinite detention without charge of foreign nationals. This was replaced by the control order regime which allows government ministers to impose sweeping restrictions on individual freedoms on the basis of secret intelligence and suspicion.
 
- Pre-charge detention has been increased from 14 days to 28 days, with further extensions threatened.
 
- Broad new speech offences impact on free speech rights and non-violent groups have been outlawed.
 
- Our right to protest has been seriously curtailed, including by the misuse of police powers.
 
Liberty opposes and challenges such measures because we believe that terrorism can and must be fought without sacrificing our human rights.

Repression and injustice, and  the criminalisation of non-violent speech and protest make us less safe, not more. They act as a recruiting sergeant to extremism and marginalise those whose engagement is vital to the effective fight against terrorism.

They undermine the values that separate us from the terrorist, the very values we should be fighting to protect.