This entry was posted on
Wednesday, June 22nd, 2005 at
11:11 am and is filed
under The War on Stupid.

Some words from Tony Benn for you to read and share, and also a rare blog entry from Boris:

Tony Benn – In the name of security: Since the attack on the twin towers, in which many innocent Americans were killed, we have been told that we are engaged in a war against terrorism that threatens our way of life and our liberties. From that moment on we have been asked to adopt a whole range of measures that pose what many believe could be a greater threat to those very liberties and to our way of life… The prime minister himself moves within a cocoon of highly armed guards, whereas Harold Wilson had a single officer from the Met with a revolver in his pocket. Even when Mrs Thatcher was nearly blown up in Brighton no such stringent measures were proposed. Next comes the Serious Crime and Disorder Act, under which the home secretary has been authorised to declare an exclusion zone around the Commons. This will silence – and could imprison – Brian Haw, who, far from being guilty of serious crime or disorder, has been preaching peace in Parliament Square and denouncing the war that has killed far more innocent Iraqis than the number of people who died on 9/11.

Boris Johnson – Racial and Religious Hatred Bill: Second Reading: I simply want to add my voice to the general and growing chorus of those who believe that this bill is bad, ill-thought out, and likely to do far more harm than good. In trying to create a new offence, of incitement to religious hatred, I believe the government is on the verge of an almost mediaeval repression of free speech.