Responding to the Prime Minister’s speech and Shami Chakrabarti, Director of Liberty said:

“The Prime Ministers speech contained much rhetoric about progressive values and the responsibility of true leadership. But there is nothing progressive or responsible about rubbishing the presumption of innocence or dishing out yet more summary police powers; after eight years it is time he changed the record”.

These comments come on the eve of Liberty joining forces with the fashion designer and cultural icon, Vivienne Westwood. Please see below for details.

Liberty Press Office: 020 7378 3656 or 07973 831 128

NOTES TO EDITORS

On Wednesday 28th September the leading fashion designer and cultural icon Vivienne Westwood will be unveiling a new collection of t-shirts at the offices of one of London’s leading law chambers. The new line is themed around the defence of liberty and human rights. It expresses the belief that the Government’s draconian anti-terror laws will not make us more secure.

The will be held at Garden Court Chambers, 57- 60 Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, WC2A 3LS, on Wednesday 28th September.

The conference will begin at 12 noon; access to set up equipment will be from 11am.

Both Vivienne Westwood and Shami Chakrabarti, Director of Liberty, will be present at the event and available for interview. Please call the press office to arrange a time.

Vivienne Westwood played a vital role in the emergence of Punk Rock in the 1970s and has gone on to become one of the most original and influential designers of our time. Fashion, she said, was 'a baby I picked up and never put down.'

Her designs combine a fearless unconformity with a sense of tradition. She is renowned for her gentle parody of Establishment styles, her use of very British fabrics such as Harris tweed and tartan, her re-use of historic garments such as the corset and crinoline.

More information is available at www.viviennewestwood.com

Garden Court is one of the country’s leading multi-disciplinary chambers and recently celebrated its thirtieth anniversary. More information is available at www.gardencourtchambers.co.uk

All profits from the sale of the t-shirts are being donated to the Human Rights organisation, Liberty.

Governments New Anti-Terror Laws
Liberty agrees that the Government should take appropriate steps to protect the public from terrorism. We believe it possible to reconcile security with liberties and rights.

We are concerned that a number of measures in the bill will do little to make us safer but will undermine free speech and protections against unjustified detention. As a consequence they will be counterproductive by undermining community relations and criminalising those who are not involved in terrorism.

In particular:

• Proposals to create new offences of encouragement of terrorism and dissemination of terrorist publications are extremely broadly drafted. They do not require any intention to incite others to commit criminal acts. The Terrorism Act 2000 and existing common law means there is already much criminal law already very broad criminal law. Any difficulty in bringing prosecutions can be largely attributed to factors such as the self imposed ban on the admissibility of intercept evidence.

• The offence of glorification of terrorism will have profound implications for free speech. Criminalisation of opinion should not be tolerated in a modern democracy. The offence will be counterproductive by making martyrs of those who hold objectionable views.

• Plans to allow three month detentions without charge will have a severe impact on community relations. This would allow for the equivalent of a six month custodial sentence. It is over twenty times the pre charge detention time limit for murder. If the police have genuine difficulties in gathering evidence we should look for more proportionate ways of dealing with the problem.

• Extension of the grounds for proscription under the Terrorism Act 2000 will criminalise membership or support of non-violent political parties.