Sir

Yesterday the Home Secretary used for the first time a key provision of one of this government's most dangerous pieces of legislation - the new Terrorism Act (Straw aims to outlaw 21 terror groups). He used his power to "proscribe" a number of foreign political groups: this means that membership (even professed membership) of those groups becomes a criminal offence.

Banning organisations and criminalising membership is a serious attack on the basic rights of free speech and free assembly. If people involved in organisations commit offences, they can be arrested and prosecuted under the existing law. If there is no evidence, guilt by association is wrong in principle. The new Act extends the definition of "terrorism" so widely that it encompasses even those suspected of being involved in destroying GM crops.

This law is draconian: it is now a criminal offence to help organise a meeting which will be addressed by someone who professes to belong to a prescribed organisation. The person does not have to be an actual member of the organisation; at the meeting, he or she need not talk about the organisation at all, could oppose the activities of the organisation, could advocate non-violence or, indeed could talk instead about his or her favourite recipes. The maximum penalty for all these "offences" is ten years in prison.

This is a law supported by a government that professes a commitment to human rights and passed by a Parliament which is supposed to protect us from draconian laws.

Yours sincerely


John Wadham
Director
Liberty