Now they can kill you and no one will ever know why

[Albus]

MPs back holding private inquests

MPs have backed government plans to hold inquests in private and without a jury in some sensitive cases, such as those involving national security.

Justice Secretary Jack Straw had made concessions so that a High Court judge, not a minister, would decide whether to hold proceedings behind closed doors.

But opposition parties and some Labour MPs insisted that the plans were still flawed and not necessary.

The proposal passed by 263 votes to 229 - a majority of 34.

The government's amendment to the Coroners and Justice Bill says inquests should be held in private if they affect national security, the relationship between the UK and another country or the prevention or detection of crime.

Plans to exclude relatives and reporters from parts of some hearings were dropped from counter-terrorism legislation last year, but were revived in the bill to cover cases involving sensitive information.

Talking about the provision for a High Court judge to make the decision, Mr Straw told MPs: "We've made a fundamental change in these proposals and those who say Parliamentary process doesn't work, I just simply say 'It does work'.

"These proposals are a million miles from where they started out in the original Counter Terrorism Bill."

Mr Straw said there was "no suggestion" that families would be excluded from an inquest conducted by a High Court judge, "except from the protected material", adding that such cases would be "few and far between".

For the Conservatives, shadow justice secretary Dominic Grieve said: "If families are deprived of having juries in coroner's inquests, then those inquests will be devalued to the point where they effectively cease to be of any real use at all."

He added: "This provision in truth simply isn't necessary."

snip

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7960412.stm

[truebrit71]

1. Seriously, has no-one in that country seen 'V'...???

It is truly through the looking-glass time when the Labour party act like fascists and the Conservative party is the main defender of civil liberties....

[LeftishBrit]

2. That's because the Tories are in opposition...

if they're elected, we'll see how fast they change on this matter. They would be even more authoritarian in government. Thatcher started most of this anti-civil-liberties crap.

[truebrit71]

3. Trust me I know all about the ***t Thatcher...

..I am just gob-smacked that a Labour Party is now implementing polices that Maggie could only have dreamed about...

[Nihil]

4. They have been able to for years ...

> Now they can kill you and no one will ever know why

... if by "no one will ever know why" you meant "the public who
swallow all the bullshit from the media will ever know why".

If proof be necessary for the above, I give you the sad case of
Dr. David Kelly, still considered by the plebs to have committed
suicide.

All this bill does is make it even easier to cover up - it doesn't
enable it or guard against it, just saves time & money on the
whitewash phase.

As for the facade of "except from the protected material", we have
all seen how often this equates to "politically-sensitive material"
rather than genuine "national security" issues.
:grr: