In het VK zijn mensen in verweer aan het komen tegen de alsmaar groeiende onbalans in macht tussen overheid en burger.
INTRODUCTIONThe publication of this report marks approximately one month since the Coronavirus Act 2020 was passed into law on 25th March 2020, and since the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) Regulations 2020 were made by statutory instrument on 26th March.1 This remarkable legislative change has fundamentally altered the balance of power between citizens and the state and afforded breath-taking powers to Ministers and law enforcement authorities.
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Brother Watch and thousands of our supporters campaigned for a shorter duration of the Coronavirus Act. Whilst we welcome the Government’s amendment for a motion in parliament after six months, this provides inadequate scrutiny and review of the appropriateness and necessity of the host of extraordinary powers in the Act. As we advised in our briefing on the (then) Bill, the emergency powers should be subjected to a monthly sunset clause – as would be the case had the powers been introduced via the Civil Contingencies Act 2004 rather than a standalone Act – to ensure thorough ongoing parliamentary scrutiny and frequent review of the necessity and proportionality of such broad and extreme measures.
Therefore, this report, and our subsequent monthly Emergency Powers and Civil Liberties reports, will provide vital evidence, policy scrutiny and analysis to support crucial ongoing monthly examination of emergency powers in parliament, the press and the public forum. Over the past month, the Coronavirus Act has been applied by police, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and magistrates disastrously, with convictions subsequently overturned. However, the Health Protection Regulations made by statutory instrument the following day have been relied on to enforce the so-called “lockdown” restrictions on freedom of movement.
These Regulations, despite accounting for the greatest loss of liberty ever imposed on the British public, have not benefitted from full parliamentary scrutiny, oversight, or approval. These Regulations too have been wielded by police in an inconsistent, incompetent and exceedingly heavy-handed manner. It is understandably difficult for police to incorporate new Regulations so rapidly.
However, this critical process appears to have been thoroughly mismanaged. We welcome the publication of further guidance by the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC), the College of Policing and the CPS and hope this goes some way to treating the immediate problems on the ground. However, this wave of excessive policing is likely to have a lasting impact on policing practices and public attitudes.
A YouGov survey conducted 3-5th April showed within the first week of emergency legislation, policing had caused concern and discomfort: 40% of people 1 In England, Wales and Scotland; and in Northern Irelands on 28th March.
6 criticised policing, saying either that some cases had gone too far or that the overall approach was too heavy-handed. As police have increased intrusive surveillance methods, 43% of people polled were uncomfortable with the use of drone surveillance, 42% were uncomfortable with the encouragement to report on others who breach restrictions and 24% were uncomfortable with road checks.2The pandemic is a public health emergency, not a public order crisis.
The institutional failures that have been exposed in the early weeks of this crisis must be addressed at the soonest possibility and demand serious rectification in the long run. We make a series of recommendations in this report. Civil liberties have been drastically compromised in the imposing of the lockdown and, unnecessarily so, are at further risk in some of the Government’s proposals for an exit strategy. In this report, we consider early proposals for a contact tracing app and immunity certificates, both of which could have remarkable rights implications.
The Coronavirus pandemic has, within weeks, drastically changed the world more than any other event since World War II. Our country, and indeed all nations of the world, face one of the greatest challenges. History shows we face challenges of such magnitude best when we hold onto the values that define us, not when we abandon them. This is a pivotal moment and a crucial time for parliamentarians to increase scrutiny and limitations on powers.
As we learned in the post 9/11 years, freedoms are too easily lost in the heat of crises; emergency responses naturally extend and endure to create a new political order in absence of serious early intervention, frequent review and an unyielding commitment to democracy and human rights. Such intervention is required now, one month after the introduction of emergency law and Regulations, to ensure the measures that remain in place are strictly necessary, proportionate and last not a moment longer than needed. We must make the right decisions now, as they will define the new United Kingdom that is to come.
Het hele rapport:
https://bigbrotherwatch.o(...)eport-april-2020.pdf
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