...sort of.
There is a letter in today's edition Times from Lib Dems Against Secret Courts protesting against the Government's plans to introduce "Closed Material Proceedings" into civil cases. This means that the government and security forces will be able to site National Security and moved to closed courts in which the defendant would not have access to the evidence against them.
If passed, this would strike at both the principle of open courts and the principles which underpin fairness in the Justice system. It would leave the security services and the Home Office with undue influence over legal process.
This autumn's Liberal Democrat conference passed a motion - in defiance of speech after speech from our parliamentarians - calling for these proposals to be dropped from the Justice and Security Bill. Since then the campaign has been continued by Jo Shaw who has organised a petition for Lib Dems to sign and the letter to The Times - which attracted 172 signatures.
If you are a Lib Dem and haven't already done so, please consider signing the petition - if Liberal Democrats don't stand up for Liberalism, Democracy and a free, open and transparent legal system, who will. If you're not a Liberal Democrat - why not join us and join the fight.
Andrew
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