Beware, your liberty can so easily be lost

From the archive, first published Friday 3rd Mar 2006.

SIR - Many readers of the Worcester News will be familiar with the phrase "the price of freedom is eternal vigilance". This is why I am appalled to learn that part of a statute, brought in under cover of a Statutary Instrument, whereby Parliament did not have a chance to debate it, is being used to silence local democracy.

This statute, called the Local Authority Code of Conduct Act 2001, has a clause that bars any councillor speaking or voting on a subject where he is deemed to have a `prejudicial interest'.

The interpretation of a `prejudicial interest' is where he holds a view on a subject before a formal debate on the subject. This may seem a bit obscure in most people's minds but may I explain what it means in practice?

It means that your locally elected councillor may be barred from representing the views of his constituents in a debate if he agrees with those views before the debate. He is said to have a `prejudicial interest'. In other words he has prejudged the issue. This is being used to stifle debate in many councils throughout the country.

When the Government brought in this statute, it probably did it for the highest moral reasons but the law usually gets misused if it is not drafted correctly. Thus we have seen an old man arrested under counter terrorism laws, for cat-calling at a Labour Party Conference.

We have seen an elderly lady arrested at the Cenotaph for calling out the names of those killed in Iraq. I could cite many other misuses of recent legislation.

Fellow citizens, wake up! Your freedom is being eroded in such small steps that you do not notice them.

TERRY JAMES,

Drakes Broughton.

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