Sheltering in place and shuttering non-essential businesses are just a few of the measures being taken to prevent or slow the spread of Covid-19 — but how much oversight is too much? One leading UK legal personality is questioning how far the government and police are going when it comes to protecting the public.
While the UK is taking precautions similar to those in the United States, retired justice Lord Sumption is questioning the tactics the country is using. Until retiring in 2018, he was one of the longest serving judges in the UK. Sumpton called actions by police forces in some areas “frankly disgraceful,” and warned against giving police too much authority in the weeks to come.
“The real problem is when human societies lose their freedom, it’s not usually because tyrants have taken it away, it’s usually because people willingly surrender their freedom in return for protection from some external threat,” he said. “And the threat is usually a real threat, but usually exaggerated and that is what I fear we are seeing now… We have to recognise that this is how societies become despotisms.”
He was speaking in an interview with the BBC, and talking about maintaining the rule of law during a pandemic – without overstepping boundaries or trampling freedoms. Lord Sumption advised the public to review medical and scientific data carefully and to use common sense – and to avoid giving up too many liberties. He feels that it is very easy to give up rights for what is really a false sense of security.
Sumption’s remarks were triggered by some ongoing police responses to the coronavirus outbreak in the UK. While most forces worked in the interest of the public, some over reached their boundaries. In Derbyshire, police were surveilling people, recording them with drones, and releasing the footage to the public. Most of these individuals were in the countryside, alone – and did not consent to being filmed. The goal of the project was to shame people who left their homes, even if they did not contact others.
Other police groups dyed the natural water in a park black to discourage visitors; still others have been accused of roughly handling people out shopping for essentials.
It was not well received by the public, and triggered the interview with Sumption.
There are also suggestions that police have been making up their own rules that do not comply with law. One area in Britain has a police ban on the sale of Easter Eggs in convenience stores – even though there is no such law in place.
The debate continues, but should serve as a cautionary tale for the freedom-loving USA to ensure we don’t follow the UK into a police led state.
The only thing George Orwell got wrong was the year 1984=2020.
Right on his native soil.
Actually, Orwell chose 1984 because he wrote it in 1948.
OH my God!!!!!
ALEXANDER TYTLER 1787:
“Tytler’s theory set forth a cycle that every democracy goes through, which goes like this. Tytler said the cycle starts out with a society in bondage, and continues in this sequence:
1. Bondage 4. Liberty 7. Complacency
2. Spiritual Faith 5. Abundance 8. Apathy
3. Courage 6. Selfishness 9. Dependence
Then starts over with Bondage
Excellent time to remember Thomas Jefferson… “When you give up freedom for security you have neither”….
In this last 4 years we have seen how brainwashed the public have become. They believe all the falsehoods from some of our elected officials and the rabid lying press. Our people just follow the false teachers of the fantasy of SOCIALISM/COMMUNISIM as being the best governing policy around. IT NEVER HAS WORKED FOR THE WORKING/PRODUCING PEOPLE. Only those at the top of the ruling class get rich. The rest of us stay at the bottom and are treated as slaves or indentured servants. Wake up AMERICA!!!
So True
People had better wake up soon before it’s too late!
President Trump must Declare Marshal law Now & hold a new Election.
I agree Frank 100%.
Yeah.. Trump won
Rather than hold a new election we should follow the procedure described in the constitution, which prescribes the choosing of the president in event of a contested election. The procedures is all there, in not too many words.
ah, “follow the procedure described in the constitution”
President Nancy! WOW! mmm
The UK may have left the EU but not statism. The evil deep state loves using this to increase powers by rolling back rights. We all need to be vigilant and keep our collective eyes on the ball.
We as Americans are so eager to give up our civil Liberties’.
I see it when I move about with this BS. about masks it’s a sign of being a sheep
another tactic to control . We have become a group of people afraid of ourselves.
We have shown our enemy’s our weakness ,
Well put! Those weaknesses being fear and ignorance!
I live in Minnesota and my husband is facing felony charges for shopping at a grocery store we are fractional owners of, wearing a mask, conducting himself peacefully then being told to leave he isn’t welcome to ship there because I CANT wear a mask; and I wasn’t even with him! The store called the police on my husband, who was just shopping, he left and the police spotted him 2.4 miles from the store. Turned around and followed him to our home before attempting to illegally pull him over! Back up was called so three police at my house…not for a moving violation but to tell him he isn’t welcome in our store! Then the police filed a claim hence the felony charges that they were in hot pursuit of my husband, which they were not! No statute cited that he violated on the road and no order cited he supposedly violated! $10k now for a lawyer! And this is actually all about my shopping with Trump hats and Tshirts that upset these radical tranny, non binary list souls, not about my not wearing a mask. People have got to wake up. Everyone in power is violating our birth and constitutional rights and the police are complicit in this!
I can only marvel at Thomas Jefferson’s clarity of foresight when he put quill to parchment and wrote the words “The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants. It is its natural manure.” I fear that in America today that tree is shrivelling for want of nourishment, and may ultimately perish if the gardners do not appear on the scene very soon. I fear that seedlings by which the tree of liberty may ever be replaced are rare and may only be procured at much greater cost.
Celebrating in Washington on the new year’s of the Patriot act. the year will start by Patriots paying no more taxes. Additionally we shall have a mask burning by protesting the violation of our constitutional rights. I’m a veteran I can’t do it alone, but the Lord’s Will shall be done on Earth as it is in Heaven. Valentine