Police arrest man for 'not' taking photos of sewer-grates and retain his DNA

Channel M (for Manchester) has the story of a man who was arrested for allegedly taking part in terrorism reconnaissance by taking pictures of sewer-grates in Manchester. The problem? The man was not taking pictures. He didn't even have a camera, and there were no pictures of sewer-grates on his phone... Watch the report here.

Liberty stated in press release 4th Dec 2008 "Retaining DNA samples of innocents breaches human rights"

The DNA profiles of roughly 850,000 innocent people should be taken off the National DNA Database (NDNAD) following a European Court of Human Rights judgment today said Liberty. Two Britons whose DNA was retained by police brought the legal challenge, claiming that their inclusion on the NDNAD continued to cast suspicion on them after they had been cleared of any wrong-doing.

Liberty welcomed the decision, which will require the UK Government to reconsider its policies under which the DNA of innocent individuals (those who have not been charged or cautioned) is permanently retained by police.

Last month the Home Office revealed that 2,324,879 recorded criminals (40 percent) in England and Wales did not actually have a DNA sample held on the NDNAD. At the same time, the Home Office reported that 857,366 innocent individuals’ profiles are currently held on the NDNAD. [1]

Liberty’s Director Shami Chakrabarti said:

“This is one of the most strongly worded judgments that Liberty has ever seen from the Court of Human Rights. That Court has used human rights principles and common sense to deliver the privacy protection of innocent people that the British Government has shamefully failed to deliver.”

The Home Office is expected to hold a consultation about the retention of DNA following today’s judgment. The judgment would not have affected the outcome of any of the recent, high profile, convictions where DNA evidence has been a significant factor.

Liberty’s Legal Officer Anna Fairclough said:

"Forty percent of Britain's criminals are not on this database, but hundreds of thousands of innocent people are. Sweeping up the innocent with the guilty does not help fight crime. The Court of Human Rights has protected the privacy of British people so poorly let down by our own government."

Key passages of Grand Chamber Judgment of S and Marper v the United Kingdom include:

● The Court was struck by the blanket and indiscriminate nature of the power of retention in England and Wales. In particular, the data in question could be retained irrespective of the nature or gravity of the offence with which the individual was originally suspected or of the age of the suspected offender; the retention was not time-limited; and there existed only limited possibilities for an acquitted individual to have the data removed from the nationwide database or to have the materials destroyed.

● The Court expressed a particular concern at the risk of stigmitisation, stemming from the fact that persons in the position of the applicants, who had not been convicted of any offence and were entitled to the presumption of innocence, were treated in the same way as convicted persons. It was true that the retention of the applicants’ private data could not be equated with the voicing of suspicions. Nonetheless, their perception that they were not being treated as innocent was heightened by the fact that their data were retained indefinitely in the same way as the data of convicted persons, while the data of those who had never been suspected of an offence were required to be destroyed.

● It observed that the protection afforded by Article 8 of the Convention would be unacceptably weakened if the use of modern scientific techniques in the criminal justice system were allowed at any cost and without carefully balancing the potential benefits of the extensive use of such techniques against important private life interests. Any State claiming a pioneer role in the development of new technologies bore special responsibility for striking the right balance in this regard.

●In the Court’s view, the capacity of DNA profiles to provide a means of identifying genetic relationships between individuals was in itself sufficient to conclude that their retention interfered with the right to the private life of those individuals. The possibility created by DNA profiles for drawing inferences about ethnic origin made their retention all the more sensitive and susceptible of affecting the right to private life. The Court concluded that the retention of both cellular samples and DNA profiles amounted to an interference with the applicants’ right to respect for their private lives, within the meaning of Article 8.1 of the Convention.

Click here for link to Liberty

Source BJP 4th March 2009 and Liberty 4th Dec 2008

The Orwell Prize 2009: Blog Prize

I am very proud to have entered and for my submissions to be successfully accepted for The Orwell Prize 2009: Blog Prize.

The next milestone for me will be the Longlist Announcement - Wednesday 25th February 2009.

Actually, if I get that far I will be very pleased especially as the standard of entries of my peers is very high.

The shortlist will be announced on Wednesday 25th March 2009.

Primrose Hill and Belsize February 2009!

I could not resist the temptation on that only too brief Sunday and Monday of "real" snow for 18 years to get out there with my daughter on the piste of Primrose!

For my daughter this was the first time to experience snow, she loved every moment of it.

As for myself, I remember only too well the last occasion in London 18 years ago when I found myself snowed in my Baker Street office.

I seem to recall then that it was apparently the wrong kind of snow as far as British Rail was concerned! Now in 2009 it was the wrong kind of quantity! It makes me very proud of our British traditions to blame the weather! I don't ever remember being without public transport of some kind or the other whilst on holiday in the Ski resort of Gstad or Zermat in Switzerland. The Swiss do what comes natural and that is to plan for the snow and anticipate the ice, but then they have had rather more practice at it every year for whole seasons long.

What a pity that as global warming is taking its hold not only is the polar ice caps melting at an alarming rate, but also the winter paradise of the Alps is facing increased ice melts and industrial pollution from cars and industry not in Switzerland itself but from the heavily polluted atmosphere that deliver contaminates which are concentrated in the ice and snow. This is not a very well known or publicised fact in Switzerland but there is a team that sets out every year from the University of Bern to investigate the worsening pollution. But it acts as a strong reminder that CO2 global warming is touching all wildernesses and not just the capital cities.

Author: Nigel Rumble 17 February 2009

Power without responsibility

"Respecting press freedoms while safeguarding public safety can be a difficult balancing act, especially when mayhem breaks out at an unauthorised demo. But if you've been reading our news pages recently, you'll know that there's a lack of equilibrium when photographers come face to face with police and their sometimes over-zealous use of stop-and-search powers.

As the Home Office has quite correctly stated, there are no restrictions on photographing in public spaces, and the government - as far as we're aware - has no plans to introduce any. But it has failed to address concerns that despite new guidelines designed to ease tensions, many rank-and-file officers seem unaware or are blatantly disregarding them. Simply put, if guidelines aren't enforced, they're not worth the paper they're written on.

Which is why I'm particularly concerned about section 76 of the new Counter-Terrorism Act, which criminalises taking pictures of police officers 'likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism'. The wording is little different to the 2000 Act, (in fact, it's equally vague), except that police officers are specifically mentioned. And that's an important detail because the issue we're fighting is not so much erroneous legislation (although many see the Act within wider concerns about the erosion of our liberties) as the misuse of power. The amendments in the 2008 Act provide further ammunition for officers who, for reasons of their own volition, are effectively criminalising street photography ad-hoc. "

See my last blog where I discussed Section 44 of the Terrorism Act 2000 and read Liberty for more facts if you wish to join the debate and campaign for more sensible measures of police stop and search powers relating to photography.

Simon Bainbridge, Editor BJP 11/02/09

A big welcome to Cllr Syed Hoque

Meeting Cllr Syed Hoque today at a reception, to welcome him on the brave decision to resign from the Labour party and join the Camden Liberal Democrats. It was engaging to talk to Syed about 'the real issues' that faces the country.

For full details on the move by Cllr Syed Hoque

Bridget's plot to block Heathrow expansion

Lib Dem campaigner Bridget Fox has taken action to stop Heathrow expansion by becoming a co-owner of a field in the path of the controversial third runway, in partnership with Islington-based Greenpeace. And now she's encouraging other Islington residents to do the same.

Bridget explains, "I'm asking people to join me and become a 'beneficial owner' of the land. The plot is in Sipson village, which will be flattened if the runway goes ahead. Anyone who wants to buy or develop the land will need to contact each one of us, so the more the merrier!"

The Labour Government has now announced that it will go ahead with a third runway, despite huge protests. The Government has not let Parliament decide, and Labour backbenchers have failed to force a vote.

Bridget says, "Expanding Heathrow is bad news for all of us, including Islington. Local people will suffer with increased noise and pollution if the runway is built; and millions of pounds is being diverted into the massive planning process in the meantime. Grafting an airport the size of Gatwick onto Heathrow will generate the same carbon emissions as Kenya. It's madness.

"Instead of wasting money on a white elephant airport, the Government should be listening to the Lib Dems. We're calling for a Green Road out of the Recession, creating lasting jobs in energy efficiency, zero-carbon homes, and modern high-speed rail links."
Greenpeace's Airplot campaign



Islington residents who want to become beneficial owners of the land can sign up free of charge on the Greenpeace website at www.greenpeace.org.

10.25.00am GMT Fri 16th Jan 2009

Heathrow expansion - disaster for Islington and the planet

Local Liberal Democrats have condemned the Government's plans to build a third runway at Heathrow, which will increase noise pollution in North London as well as being a climate change catastrophe.

The airport expansion plans came as a blow to environmental campaigners, as Heathrow's annual CO2 emissions are set to rise by 10 million tonnes a year.

But the Government announcement also came as unwelcome news to Islington residents who have campaigned against the flight paths that bring low flying jet planes over Islington at unsociable hours- particularly between 5 and 7am. Department of Transport maps show that aircraft approaching the new runway will fly over Hampstead and Islington before beginning their descent over Paddington.

Julia Williams, Liberal Democrat councillor for Hillrise ward, commented:

"I'm a light sleeper and have been personally annoyed and woken up by noisy planes flying low overhead, particularly in the early mornings from 5am. Many residents of Islington - from Crouch Hill to Clerkenwell- have told me they've had the same problems. We've collected petitions and written to the Government, who have obviously ignored us.

"The Labour Government's decision is to support whatever the aviation industry asks for, rather than the needs and wishes of ordinary people. It's now very clear whose side Labour are on: it's clear that they've sold out to big business."

Please sign our 'Quiet Skies' petition at:

http://campaigns.libdems.org.uk/IslingtonQuietSkies

The Liberal Democrats have called for investment in new high-speed railway connecting London with Scotland and the north and for more connections between St. Pancras International to German and Dutch railways, instead of more flights into Heathrow Airport.

11.28.00am GMT Tue 20th Jan 2009