re: rights for victims

we fully support steps to improve the rights of victims of crime. You can give more rights to victims without affecting the rights of defendants. Clearly it's important that these two issues are kept separate.

re: bus passes for male over-60s.

We welcome this announcement from the Government - it's a long overdue reform. The refusal of concessionary bus passes to men aged 60 (the age at which women are eligible; men have had to wait until they are 65) is a form of discrimination that has already prompted people including ourselves to take cases to the European courts.

Liberty has been acting for equal rights group Parity and Michael Matthews in pursuing this case in Europe; Lovells have been acting for Parity in a parallel challenge in the UK courts. (See our press notice on the Matthews case from 22.12.00).

James Welch, the Legal Director of Liberty and the solicitor acting for Mr Matthews, said "There is no good reason for linking the age at which a person can qualify for a bus pass to the retirement age. We always believed this case would have far-reaching effects."