Liberty Labour Fringe 2011 Video: A Cut Too Far
Chair of the influential Home Affairs Committee, Keith Vaz MP, told us that he joined Liberty aged 17 and had been a member for 38 years. He described the Human Rights Act as a “great legacy of the last Labour Government”. “I know Labour politicians have to apologise for some things” he said, but for that “we should be very, very proud.” Attacking the Government’s plans to axe legal aid, he reflected on its importance for the most vulnerable: those in the immigration system and asylum seekers who are prevented from working. His mea culpa was Labour’s approach to legal aid while in office “I think we were at fault. We started the process of cutting legal aid without saying why we did it”.
Fearless campaigner and forensic cross examiner, Tom Watson MP, talked of the lessons of the hacking scandal. “It was a failure of our political leadership” he said, and “the institutions that are meant to protect us”. He reminded the audience of the role of human rights and access to justice in getting to the truth. “The Dowler family have said that they might not have taken on a lawyer in their civil claim against Murdoch if David Cameron’s reforms in the Legal Aid Bill had already gone through.” He noted that while others would have stepped in to help high profile victims it would not be the same for those who are not well off or well known.
The Shadow Solicitor General, Catherine McKinnell MP, was up next. Making the link between the European Convention on Human Rights - born out of the horrors of the Holocaust - and the creation of a legal aid system by a reforming post-war Labour Government she said there was “no point granting people rights and protections if you don’t allow them to enforce those rights”. She argued that more needed to be done to explain to the public the impact of cuts to legal aid “people who will be most affected don’t know and won’t until it’s too late…women, minority communities, disabled people”.
Polly Toynbee, one of the foremost political commentators of our day, told the crowd about a recent interview she had done with Aung San Suu Kyi who had addressed conference by video-link earlier that day. It’s a "reality check" she said and it "reminds you of the value of democracy”. She discussed the social impact of the legal aid cuts and how the myths that abound about fat cat lawyers don’t chime with the reality of those doing unglamorous work for very little pay.
One of the most common misconceptions about the HRA is that it does nothing for victims of crime. Those critics may want to speak to Javed Khan, Chief Executive of Victim Support, who, during an intervention from the floor confirmed his unequivocal support for the HRA. His organisation helps over a million victims of crime every year and he knows about the precious protections it provides.
Chair of the Police Federation, Paul McKeever, due to
address conference the next day, said it was an honour and a privilege to speak
on a Liberty
platform. “The freedoms we enjoy have been hard won over many years” he said and
we are “very lucky to live in a free liberal democracy”. On plans for directly
elected police commissioners he warned of the need to safeguard police
independence - “while the Government has a duty to govern, they have a
responsibility to get their reforms right”. He finished with his categorical
support for the HRA and called for greater public education about its values
“when people ask why I support it I say ‘why wouldn’t you?’”.
