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Lawyer■ ● SocialistMagazine of the Haldane Society of Socialist Lawyers Number 40 November 2004 £2.50

PAUL FOOT atribute

Plus: BUSH & THE US: Plus: EYEWITNESS IN JERUSALEM ‘ELEPHANTS, THE Plus: ASBOS: ‘CUMBERSOME, PERFECT STORM AND DRACONIAN AND FARCICAL’ THE NEW COVENANT’ and more SL40-pp2-3.qxd 30/11/04 5:52 pm Page 2

HaldaneSocietyof SocialistLawyers 25a Red Lion Square, Conway Hall, Contents London WC1R 4RL; Tel: 020 7242 2897; Number 40November2004 ISBN 09 54 3635 Website: www.haldane.org The Haldane Society was founded in 1930. News & comment ...... 4 It is an organisation which provides a forum Impeaching Blair; Asylum laws; Smacking; Mordechai Vanunu; Roger Sylvester for the discussion and analysis of law and the legal system both nationally and Paul Foot – a tribute ...... 12 internationally, from a socialist perspective. ‘That most humane, brilliant and inspiring of men’ It is independent of any political party. Its membership consists of individuals who are lawyers, academics or students and legal workers, and it also has trade union and labour movement affiliates. President: Michael Mansfield QC Vice Presidents: Kader Asmal; Louise Christian; Jack Gaster; Tess Gill; Helena Kennedy QC; Dr. Paul O’Higgins; Michael Seifert; David Turner-Samuels; Professor Lord Wedderburn QC Chair: Richard Harvey ([email protected]) Vice-Chair: Liz Davies Secretary: Rebekah Wilson Treasurer: to be confirmed by Executive International Secretary: Bill Bowring ([email protected]) Membership Secretary: to be confirmed by Executive Executive Committee: Catrin Lewis, Nick Toms, John Hobson, Adrian Berry, Claire Bostock, Tom Bradford, Hannah Brooks, Ashok Kanani, Rekha Kodikara, Monika Pirani Regional Contacts: ■ West Midlands – Brian Nott, Flat 2, 40 Chancery Lane, Moseley, Birmingham B13 9DJ ■ Manchester – John Hobson (Garden Court North) or Neil Usher, Kenworthy Buildings, 83 Bridge Street, Manchester M3 The boots of soldiers who were killed Haldane Sub-committees; whilst serving in Iraq. Organised by ■ Crime – tel: 020 7242 2897 ‘Iraq Veterans Against The War and ■ Employment – meets at the Haldane Office Military Families for Peace’ and on the third Tuesday of the month. Contact ‘Vietnam Veterans Against the War’, Daniel Blackburn: [email protected] New York City, 2nd September 2004 Picture: / reportdigital.co.uk Jess Hurd ■ International – contact Bill Bowring [email protected] Elephants, the Perfect Storm and ■ Student – contact: [email protected] the New Covenant ...... 17 ■ Haldane Society Women’s sub-committee Jack Kurzweil reflects on the re-election of the American president – Anyone interested in discussing the issues facing women involved in the legal system Anti-Social Behaviour Orders ...... 24 should contact Rebekah Wilson at: Matt Foot looks at another deeply flawed strategy from the government Tooks Court Chambers, 020 7405 8828; or email: [email protected] ...... ■ The Immigration and Asylum Committee Diary from Jerusalem 26 is interested to hear from people who would Hannah Brooks’ personal diary from her time working in Israel like to join or to participate in the work of the Committee. The Committee meets every four Reviews...... 33 to six weeks. We campaign on Immigration Andy Eaton on a new legal drama and Mike Mansfield on Helena Kennedy’s book and Asylum issues from a socialist perspective. If you are interested in the work of the committee or would simply like to join our email list and find out more about us, please Editor: Catrin Lewis Design and production: Andy Smith send an email to [email protected] Printed by The Russell Press, Nottingham Cover picture: Jess Hurd Many thanks to all our contributors

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from the Chair

Lessons from history

e celebrate the 75th Anniversary of the Haldane evidence that peace or justice in the Middle East are of serious in- Society both this year and next. You might say that, terest to the White House. Climate change wasn’t even on the as socialists, there isn’t a lot to celebrate right now, agenda, neither were the ongoing war crimes in Guantánamo and so when we get an excuse… But no, the real Belmarsh. Fair trade for Africa? Preventing genocide? Of course, as reason is that we do not know the exact date we long as these don’t conflict with our oil and pharmaceutical interests. were founded. Come to that, most people haven’t Oh yes, and our armaments industries. Wa clue how we got our name. To commemorate 75 years of struggle for the cause of Socialism, So, armed with my dog-eared copy of that seminal but sadly out- we are planning events to mark the occasion, plus an Anniversary of-print publication, Wigs and Workers: A History of the Haldane So- issue of the Socialist Lawyer and we invite your contributions. ciety of Socialist Lawyers (Nick Blake & Harry Rajak, Haldane Society In this edition, Jack Kurzweil offers an insight as to why Bush of Socialist Lawyers, London, 1980), I offer the following: was re-elected and why Kerry was defeated. Jack is the Treasurer of Richard, the First Viscount Haldane, was a Scottish Liberal MP a new Democratic Party club in California and is participating in who helped found both the London School of Economics and the building a new progressive wing of the Democratic Party. Territorial Army. He was twice Secretary of State for War before The struggle at home is part of a greater worldwide demand for Asquith appointed him Lord Chancellor (1912-1915). Haldane later peace, justice, self-determination and human rights. Haldane moved closer to the Labour Party, concerning himself with legal and Executive member Hannah Rought-Brooks has been spending educational reform. In the first, short-lived premiership of Ramsay four months in Palestine with an international group of Ecumenical MacDonald in 1924, Haldane became the first Lord Chancellor to be Accompaniers, escorting children to and from school and working appointed by a Labour government. He died in 1928. with progressive groups of Israelis and Palestinians to promote Around the time MacDonald returned to Downing Street in 1929, peace and protection for those threatened by the IDF and settler a group of Labour Party barristers joined together to offer their ex- zealots. We are proud of her courage and dedication and we are pertise to the government. They called themselves the Haldane Club. delighted to offer her reflections on these experiences in this issue. Whether that was in 1928, 1929 or 1930 we do not know, since the In the new year the Society will hold a public meeting where Hannah early archives were destroyed by a Luftwaffe bomb which struck the will report back on this never-ending struggle for justice and self- Temple in 1941. By that time the Club, under the leadership of D.N. determination. Pritt, Sir Stafford Cripps and the young John Platts-Mills, had become Iraq continues to dominate the headlines while Afghanistan rates the Haldane Society. Originally, the Society was formally affiliated to only an occasional mention. For lawyers the total denial of justice is the Labour Party and described its objects as: “To arrange in suitable a paramount concern, which is why the Haldane’s first public meet- cases for the giving of advice of a legal and technical character to ing of 2005 will feature Clive Stafford-Smith on 20th January in a ses- national and local organisations of the Labour Party, the trade unions sion entitled: “Guantánamo, the American Gulag.” and the co-operative societies” and “generally to promote the inter- The Commons motion to impeach the Prime Minister for “gross ests of the Labour Party and to further the cause of Socialism.” misconduct” over the war against Iraq will be dismissed by many, in- Individual membership, however, was never predicated on hold- cluding Blair himself, as a piece of political grandstanding. But it ing a Labour Party card and by 1949 the Executive Committee could highlights a serious constitutional question; how can the people hold justly claim: “Because of the fact that it embraces among its mem- their political leaders to account when government by cabinet is re- bers lawyers of widely divergent viewpoints, [the Haldane] has in the placed by government by cabal and when a runaway majority in the course of time built up a reputation both at home and abroad as the Commons can override not only the non- authentic representative of all progressive and socialist legal opinion, elected Upper House but all progressive US marine at and it accordingly enjoys a prestige which no purely political group- voices of reason in the Lower? Falujah: Blair ing could hope for.” These are indeed tough times for backs Bush’s The formal link to Labour ended in 1949 as the Attlee administra- progressive people. The times are barbarism tion moved further to the right in the chill of the Cold War. Members made tougher still by the passing of one who, like Pritt and Platts-Mills, Bill Sedley and John L. Williams, stood of our great progressives. Paul Foot for the right to criticise the Labour government, successfully resisted was a hero to all of us on the left, whether an attempt to expel all Communists (not to mention Liberals and non- we shared his politics or not. He was a aligned progressives). The Haldane remained a broad front for pro- fighter for truth and peace who ex- gressives of all varieties within the legal profession. posed institutional corruption, mis- The political climate of the Cold War had much in common with carriages of justice and today’s climate of the ‘War on Terror’. But whenever we have per- governmental hypocrisy. We ceived a divergence between following the “interests of the Labour proudly dedicate this issue to Party” and “furthering the cause of Socialism,” the Haldane then, as a great non-lawyer, to the prin- now has no hesitation in choosing the latter path. ciples for which he fought and In our 75th year, George W. Bush has just been returned to the to the inspiration he continues White House and Fallujah has been turned to dust. The Palestinians to give us all in carrying on have just interred Yasser Arafat in the compound in which the Israelis that fight. had already interned him for over three years. Tony Blair has returned ● Richard Harvey, from Washington with much spin about a Palestinian state, but little Chair of the Haldane Society

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New Labour’s asylum laws: ‘Increasingly inhumane’ nce again, asylum “leave or asylum interview”. It strengthening the association seekers find is not a defence to rely on the between asylum seekers and themselves on the end instructions of an agent who criminality, given that currently Oof another pernicious facilitated entry into the UK. As tagging is utilised only in respect piece of legislation. Under the is widely known, many people of convicted criminals. Tagging Asylum and Immigration who enter through ports are in the asylum context may lead (Treatment of Claimants, etc) made to return their documents to severe levels of humiliation. Act 2004, the chances of to the agents who need them The 2004 Act is simply winning a right to stay in the again and who also fear another manifestation of this UK are drastically reduced, exposure. The undoubted effect government’s increasingly while the prospect of being of this provision is the further inhumane asylum policy. New detained, and criminalised, are criminalising of those who are legislation in this area is always once again substantially seeking international protection more unpleasant than the last increased. The 2004 Act also from human rights abuses. piece. After five major pieces of escalates the ability of the Section 35 makes provision immigration and asylum Immigration Service to for the prosecution and legislation in the last 11 years, arbitrarily interfere with the sentencing on conviction of up what is next? personal liberty of persons to two years of persons subject ● Sadat Sayeed is a barrister at subject to immigration control, to enforcement action who fail Two Garden Court Chambers The family of Derek Bennett, killed by the police, o without seeking to redress any to co-operate with the process of of the shortcomings in the removal or deportation. This prevailing system. provision is predicated on the ‘Violence towards children is still leg The Immigration Appeal increased reliance on fear and Tribunal will be abolished and coercion rather than counselling oluntary outright ban. the appeal system will now only and managed return organisations and After the vote, Mary Marsh, be a one tier appeal before the programmes as a means of charities working director of the National Society new ‘Asylum and Immigration meeting removals targets. Vfor children have for the Prevention of Cruelty to Tribunal’. There will be Section 36 introduces a severely criticised Clause 56 Children, said: “Bad legal statutory review of the system of electronic tagging of the new Children Bill, reform is worse than no legal determination of the new applicable to any person who is which allows assaults on reform – and that is what these Tribunal, however any currently subject to a residence children to be justified as proposals amount to. application must be lodged restriction. The restrictions on “reasonable punishment”. “Violence towards children within five days – such a residence, reporting, On 2nd November the is still legally acceptable, as draconian time limit will be employment, and curfew House of Commons voted by long as you are careful not to unworkable, and is clearly empower the Secretary of State 284 to 208 to retain the leave a mark. The law needs to intended to have a deterrent to use tagging well beyond clause, rather than to outlaw send out a clear message that it effect. genuine alternatives to detention all forms of assault on is just as wrong to hit a child Section 2 makes it an offence, and to use the device simply as children. The chief supporters as it is to hit an adult.” punishable by imprisonment, for an expedient tracking and of the new formula were the The NSPCC is one of more any non-British or EEA national control mechanism. Again, government, which used a than 300 charities and arriving at a UK port, not to tagging will only reinforce three-line whip to stop voluntary groups which, have a passport when at a negative stereotypes, Labour MPs supporting the together with all mainstream July 2: Home Office figures for 7: People who want to 8: A clause of the Anti-Terror that her husband was 9: The International Court of stop and search show that become British Citizens will Laws passed after planning a suicide bomb Justice in the Hague rules the police are still have to demonstrate a September 11 attacks – attack on Israel. Her solicitor the vast West Bank barrier is disproportionately targetting defined minimum standard placing a “positive duty upon Louise Christian said “this contrary to international law. black and Asian of English or take a each of us to give information disproportionate prosecution The ruling follows the communities. Stop and compulsory course of about crime” is condemned against a young Muslim judgment of Israel’s Supreme searches of Asians under language and citizenship after a jury acquitted the first woman will increase fears Court on 30th June that the new anti-terror laws soared classes for which those who person tried under it. Tahira among Muslims of unfair wall is violating the human by 302% in a year. can afford it will be expected Tabassum was cleared of treatment by the police and rights of Palestinians. to pay. failing to tell the authorities prosecution”.

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Families gather to remember loved ones killed in ‘care’

HE UNITED Families Family and friends of Derek and Friends Campaign Bennett are pictured left on the (UFFC) held their sixth march. Derek, 29, was shot dead Tannual remembrance by police in Brixton, south procession on 30th October. London, on 16th July 2001. Hundreds of campaigners The UFFC procession has who had lost loved ones in played an important role in police custody, prison or secure bringing together families who psychiatric care came together in have suffered injustices at the Trafalgar Square and marched hands of the authorities. And together to Downing Street. each year new families get in- Radical poet Benjamin volved. Benjamin said, “At first Zephaniah was there. His cousin it was just black families – now Mikey Powell died in police cus- it is white as well. It’s great when tody. Benjamin said, “We would we come together. We draw like this case to be investigated strength from it. Last year I met as it would be if a police officer a white middle class woman who had died. In these cases they told me she used to see us seem to slow the whole legal marching on the TV. She said she process down, trying to wear couldn’t believe she would end d by the police, on the United Families and Friends Campaign march to Downing Street families out.” up marching with us.” Picture: / reportdigital.co.uk Jess Hurd still legally acceptable, as long as you are careful not to leave a mark’

professional associations “Some adults and, sadly, Child Health said: “We have paediatricians, and perhaps working with children and even some Government reservations about the Chil- nurses and GPs, to adjudicate families, make up the Children Ministers are fond of using the dren Bill. What constitutes an on whether the smack had left Are Unbeatable Alliance that term ‘smacking’ to make them offence? If we are going to use a mark. campaigned against Clause 56 feel more comfortable with reddening, then different She said there was already a and will continue to argue for what they are condoning or people react differently to shortage of doctors to give its replacement by an outright defending,” Hinchliffe said, smacks. It is going to be ex- evidence in child protection ban. moving the motion. tremely hard for doctors to cases, as a result of the The Alliance lobbied “Children, however, tell it give evidence.” increasing number of parliament before last month’s as it is; smacking is hitting, Professor Sarah Stewart- complaints about colleagues debate, in which health and smacking hurts. It does Brown of Warwick Medical involved in such work and committee chairman David not just cause physical pain, School wrote in the British recent cases where experts’ Hinchliffe MP, one of 47 but hurts inside too.” Medical Journal that MPs had evidence had been disputed. Labour MPs who defied the Professionals say that the made a “poor decision”. She For information on the government whip to support a new clause, which allows argued that health Children Are Unbeatable ban on hitting children, said hitting as long as it does not professionals were going to Alliance go to the website: that “equal protection” of leave a mark, is unworkable. have to deal with the www.childrenareunbeatable.org.uk children and adults should A spokesman for the Royal consequences of the legislation ● Monika Pirani, mean what it says. College of Paediatrics and as it would be up to Family Solicitor, Christian Khan

21: The Home Office reports 27: The Association of Chief 28: A fast-track recognition 29: Two demonstrators who 29: The Court of Appeal the crime rate in England and Police Officers (Acpo) scheme for asylum seekers were stopped and searched rules that three men, Wales fell by a further 5% in outlaws joining the nazi who clearly qualify as by the police at random on including Vincent and the past year to produce the British National Party for refugees is put forward by their way to an international Michael Hickey, who spent longest sustained drop since police and staff in England leading British migrant and arms fair lose their challenge up to 18 years in prison for 1896. Overall crime has fallen and Wales. Any officers who welfare organisations. to the use of the London- crimes they did not commit, by 39% since it peaked in belong to the BNP will be wide stop-and-search must repay 25% of their 1995, with the rate of car sacked. powers given under the anti- compensation, because they crime and burglary halving in terrorist laws. did not have to pay their the past nine years. living costs while in jail.

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inhuman and degrading treat- ment in an Israeli prison, while Israel swoops in showing no bitterness and still retaining his peaceful beliefs, as a truly remarkable achievement. He recently won the Lennon bid to silence critic Ono Grant for Peace, which his adoptive parents received on his srael made its latest outra- weapons of mass destruction. It behalf in New York, on 7th Oc- geous attempt to silence is these statements that Israel tober, as he was refused permis- Mordechai Vanunu when, wishes to silence because they sion to leave Israel to take part Ion 11th November, thirty know, as we have always said, in the ceremony. (This was his armed police – without warning that he has no secrets. thirteenth such peace award). He – raided St. George’s Cathedral As Rayna Moss, one of the Is- has also been nominated by in East Jerusalem and took him raelis campaigning for Vanunu’s Mairead Maguire Novel Peace to the Shin Bet interrogation right to leave Israel said: “It is Prize Laureate on behalf of Irish centre at Petah-Tikva near Tel- clear that the security authorities Peace People for the prestigious Aviv. The Rt. Rev Riah Abu El- have taken this disgraceful Tipperary Peace Prize. Assal, bishop of Jerusalem, was action at the time of Arafat’s Applications to the govern- outraged at this violent trespass death while the world’s media is ments of Britain, France, of his church where Mordechai focused on his death. This is just Norway, Canada and Ireland by was being given sanctuary. a continuation of the vindictive parliamentarians and local The arrest was ordered by the policies of the security services groups have been made for him Attorney General Menahem against a courageous man who to visit, receive nationality Mazuz in a carefully planned act continues to tell the truth.” papers or be given sanctuary in to once again attempt to silence Yael Lotan, another member these countries. Vanunu at the time of Arafat’s and trustee of the Campaign to As Mordechai said on leaving death and after the re-election of Free Vanunu, expressed her con- prison, “I am a symbol of the George Bush. Clearly the Israeli cerns for Mordechai’s safety and will of freedom. You cannot authorities wished to hide this condemned this latest act of in- break the human spirit… I am shameful act of intimidation timidation. She said, “This is an- proud and happy to do what I when they thought the world other violent attack against free did”. It is clear from the continu- media would be otherwise preoc- speech in Israel and Vanunu’s ing scandalous persecution of cupied with the death of Arafat. human rights.” Vanunu that the Israeli authori- Since his release from prison The charge against ties still wish to punish him and on 21st April, Vanunu, faced Mordechai is likely to be the break his spirit. However, he re- with numerous restrictions de- possession of information detri- mains steadfast in his beliefs and signed to limit his freedom of mental to the state of Israel. as he said outside the prison speech, has refused to remain Despite completing his sentence, “They had not succeeded to silent. He has been interviewed Vanunu is now being told that make me crazy” and he adds, on the world’s television, radio his very good memory threatens “they will not now”. and in the press. There is not one the military might of Israel! On He told the Campaign he is Six supporters of Mordechai Vanunu instance in all of these inter- that basis, Mordechai says, he determined not to be silenced in chained themselves to the gate and views, to our knowledge, where could be held until he dies or his continuing opposition to fence of the Israeli Embassy in Mordechai touches on any issues loses his mind! Israel’s enormously dangerous London on 30th September and then sensitive to Israeli security, Elsewhere, Mordechai’s status nuclear stockpile and the threat put on masks depicting his face. except, of course, that he contin- and stature grows ever stronger they pose to the Middle East. They were Ernest Rodker, David ues to call for Dimona to be as more and more groups and ● Ernest Rodker Polden, Dan Martin, Adeline opened for international inspec- organisations recognise his sur- For more info go to: O’Keeffe, Angela Broome and Hope tion and for Israel to disarm its vival of 18 years suffering cruel, www.vanunu.freeserve.co.uk/ Liebersohn. July August 29: Respect candidate 30: Home Affairs Select Com- 9: The Mayor of London 12: Home Secretary 22: Rose Gentle, the mother Oliur Rahman wins the St mittee condemns Blunkett’s accuses immigration officials proposes that police should of a soldier killed in Iraq, plans Dunstan’s and Stepney plan for compulsory identity of harassing black people get wider arrest powers, to sue the Ministry of Defence, Green ward by-election to cards as improperly costed, after it emerged they were stronger powers to use claiming officials breached their gain a place on Tower poorly thought out, secretive questioning tube passengers search warrants and a new duty of care. Her son Gordon, Hamlets Council. The and “lacking in clarity both over speaking non-European power to impose conditions 19, a Royal Highland Fusilier, Liberal Democrats came the scheme’s scope and practi- languages. Civil liberties on all demonstrations at died in Basra in June. It will be second and Labour trailed cal operation”. The MPs on the groups described the Westminster and ban long- the first time Britain has been in third. committee do not oppose ID practise as potentially racist. term protests in Parliament sued over the death of a soldier cards in principle. Square. in combat.

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garded as a terrorist organiza- ‘Terrorist’ blacklists gathering tion? by Eric David, Centre for International Law, Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB); Judi- highlights human rights cial implications of including the PMOI in the EU terrorist lists, n 10th November, Human Rights Group were pre- by Dr. Jörg Arnold, Humboldt Haldane members sent, as was a large contingent University, Berlin and Wolfgang took part in a lawyers’ from 2 Garden Court chambers. Kaleck, advocate, President of Oconference held in Papers presented at the con- Association of Republican Paris on the topic Terrorism ference included: Terrorist Desig- Lawyers, Germany; and Terror- Lists: European, United States nation with Regard to European ism and Fundamental Rights: In- and International Law Ap- and International Law: The Case ternational and European proaches. The conference, which of the PMOI by Bill Bowring Contexts by Christophe Pettiti, attracted several hundred partici- and Douwe Korff of London- Paris Bar, general secretary of the pants from all over Europe, was Met; International Law and Human Rights Institute of Euro- sponsored by London Metropoli- Recognition of PMOI As a Re- pean Lawyers. tan University’s Human Rights sistance Movement by Lord The European Association of and Social Justice Research Insti- Slynn of Hadley and Jean-Yves Lawyers for Democracy and tute (HRSJ). Other sponsors in- de Cara, Institute for Interna- Human Rights (EALDH), of cluded the Human Rights tional Law, University of Paris; which Haldane is a member, will Institute of European Lawyers, The validity of the inclusion of hold its Annual Assembly in the Human Rights Institute of the PMOI in the EU list of ter- London on 22nd May and, to- the Bordeaux Bar, the Interna- rorist organisations in the light gether with Haldane, HRSJ and tional Centre for Research and of European law, and its applica- others, have a conference on 21st Study of Terrorism, and the De- bility by the judges by Henri May on ‘Suspect Communities: mocratic Lawyers of Italy. Mem- Labayle of Pau University and Europe-Wide Consequences of bers of the Bar Human Rights Bruno Nascimbene of Milan Anti-Terror Legislation’. Committee and the Solicitors’ University; Can the PMOI be re- ● Bill Bowring

severe personality disorder and Could Zahid Mubarek’s propensity to violence – this was not properly recorded, and he death have been avoided? did not undergo a full psychi- atric assessment. Stewart’s racist he hearings of the early hours of the morning after views were expressed in a letter public inquiry into the being hit about the head with a that had been intercepted by death of Zahid table leg, while he slept. Feltham prison officers but this TMubarek began on In its first few days, the public too was not recorded in security 18th November at First Avenue inquiry was told that prison au- files. Counsel to the Zahid House. He was killed in prison thorities missed 14 potential op- Mubarek inquiry, Nigel Griffen over four years ago in March portunities to prevent Stewart QC, said that the inquiry needed 2000 by Robert Stewart, with from murdering his cellmate. to assess whether any failures to whom he was made to share a Errors included warning signs protect Mubarek were the prod- cell by the prison authorities. that Stewart had been involved uct of racial discrimination. Stewart is allegedly a known in, although not responsible for, The enquiry is expected to racist but nevertheless was the murder of another prisoner continue until at least March placed in the same cell as in 1998. The prison authorities 2005. Mubarek, who died during the also failed to address Stewart’s ● Ashok Kanani September 1: Linda Dobbs QC is the 3: A Court of Appeal ruling 4: Fourteen male prisoners 6: A report by the Prison 7: A British soldier is first black lawyer to reach the in the case of Rutherford killed themselves during Reform Trust reveals that six out charged with the murder of High Court bench. Her means that half a million August making it the worst of ten women sent to jail while an Iraqi civilian, the first to appointment will also take the workers over the age of 65 month for suicides in penal they await trial are acquitted or appear before a criminal number of women High Court have no right to claim history. Research by the given non-custodial sentences. court since the invasion of judges into double figures, to compensation for unfair Prison Service points to a link The number of women re- the country. ten out of 97. dismissal or redundancy if between overcrowding and manded into custody has tre- they lose their jobs. the number of deaths. bled over the last ten years – even though more than 75% of their offences are non-violent or minor.

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Sylvester: what kind of justice is this?

he unlawful killing ver- more. Our fight for justice was dict returned by an in- not just for Roger it was for all dependent jury in the the other people who have died Tinquest of Roger and continue to die in custody Sylvester was formally quashed and for the victims they leave on 26th November by Mr Justice behind.” Collins. He said the summing up The family were represented by the coroner Andrew Reid was at the hearing by INQUEST defective and that some of the Lawyers Group members Paddy reasons the jury gave for their O’Connor QC and Phillipa verdict were inconsistent. Kaufman of Doughty Street Roger Sylvester died as the Chambers, instructed by Raju result of being handcuffed and Bhatt of Bhatt Murphy Solici- restrained for around 20 minutes tors. by up to eight Met officers who The family of Roger Sylvester had detained him under the had previously condemned the Mental Health Act. On the evi- decision on 11th November to dence heard at the inquest the reinstate the eight police officers judge accepted that the jury suspended following the unlaw- could have returned an unlawful ful killing verdict. At that time, killing verdict, finding that Bernard Renwick, brother of Roger had died from brain Roger Sylvester, said: “We are damage and cardiac arrest re- bitterly disappointed in learning lated to his unlawful and exces- that the officers involved in sive restraint. But because of Roger’s fatal restraint are no errors by the coroner and jury longer suspended. This decision the verdict has been quashed. In has yet again caused deep an- other words the family has had guish and distress to the whole an unlawful killing verdict taken family. Roger would not be dead away by a legal technicality. if these police officers had not Roger was a young, healthy, laid hands on him.” black man who died because of Once again the message is the fatal restraint used against sent out that police officers in- him by police officers. Yet seem- volved in fatal restraint are seen ingly no one is to be held ac- to be above the law and families countable for his death. What whose loved ones have died as a kind of justice system is this? result of excessive and unlawful The Roger Sylvester Justice force can get no justice and ac- Campaign said: “With regards to countability. our fight for justice for Roger the ● Deborah Coles and Helen judge commented that justice Shaw, Co-directors, INQUEST Victor Sylvester: his son Roger was killed by police was for all; we couldn’t agree www.inquest.org.uk September 7: The McLibel Two, David 14: Figures released by the 15: The House of Commons 15: The United Nations 16: Tony Blair announces Morris and Helen Steel, sued Home Office show that 1,000 votes to outlaw hunting in a Secretary General, Kofi that the capacity of Britain’s by McDonald’s in 1997, have illegal immigrants have been second reading whilst Annan, declares explicitly for immigration centres is to be taken their case to the arrested after random prohunt supporters clashed the first time that the US-led increased by 1,000 places in European Court of Human swoops on tube passengers with police outside war on Iraq was illegal. the next nine months as part Rights, arguing that English and pedestrians in London. Parliament. of the drive to step up the libel law and the lack of legal expulsion of failed asylum aid for defamation cases seekers. denied them the right to free speech and a fair hearing.

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to the inquest verdict. After Harry Stanley verdict, SO19 officers appear to have been misled by the Police Federa- tion into seeing the verdict as a prosecutions must follow jury second-guessing a split- he jury in the second chover, solicitor at Hickman and second decision taken by officers inquest into the death Rose, said: “A prosecution who opened fire believing them- of Harry Stanley re- should follow this unlawful selves to be in imminent danger Tturned, on 29th Octo- killing verdict immediately. The of being shot at. That is NOT ber, an ‘unlawful killing’ verdict CPS were present in court correct. That was simply what based on the evidence heard. throughout the inquest and we these officers claimed in their ev- Harry was killed in September hope they will announce their idence. The family’s view is that, 1999 by Inspector Sharman and decision imminently.” Irene Stan- had the jury accepted the offi- PC Fagan, from the Metropoli- ley, Harry’s wife, said: “Finally, cers’ evidence (that the officers tan Police firearms unit SO 19. justice has been done. But this is believed they were under immi- A caller told police that ‘an only the beginning. Harry was nent threat) the jury would never Irishman’ had just left a pub in unlawfully killed and somebody have returned a verdict of un- Hackney ‘carrying a sawn-off must be held accountable.” lawful killing. The jury appear to shotgun wrapped in a bag’. We at INQUEST and the have concluded, beyond all rea- Harry, 46 and Scottish, had been lawyers for the Stanley family sonable doubt, that these officers carrying a table leg that had were surprised by the news that did not actually hold that belief. been repaired by one of his Metropolitan police officers ● Deborah Coles and Helen brothers. The armed officers re- from SO19 decided to cease car- Shaw, Co-directors, INQUEST sponded to the call and shot rying their firearms in response www.inquest.org.uk Harry in the head. At the in- quest, HM Coroner Dr Andrew Reid had left three possible ver- dicts for the jury to return, Death of Joseph Scholes: open, lawful killing and unlaw- ful killing. public inquiry call grows The verdict of unlawful killing is a vindication of the he campaign for a to provide a safe environment to Stanley family’s fight for the public inquiry into the care for society’s most vulnerable truth and the only just outcome death of 16-year-old young offenders. His death also of this shocking case. Metropoli- TJoseph Scholes who raises questions about the proce- tan Police officers used unlawful died in Stoke Heath Young Of- dures for holding these agencies force in deciding to shoot an un- fenders Institution in 2002 is to account when they fail. Back- armed man. We now expect growing. Joseph was a deeply ing for a public inquiry into them to be prosecuted for disturbed young boy who had al- Joseph’s death includes children’s murder. We have always believed legedly been repeatedly sexually charities, penal reform groups, that these officers should face abused from an early age. leading members of the legal es- criminal charges. The Stanley On 24th March 2002 he tablishment, Peers and 111 MPs family have already had to hanged himself in his cell. His who have signed an Early Day endure an earlier inquest where death occurred just nine days Motion in support. the coroner denied the inquest into his two year sentence for INQUEST, Nacro and jury the opportunity to hear street robbery. Joseph’s death Yvonne Scholes believe the seri- from firearms experts and to highlights serious issues around ousness of this particular case, consider whether Harry had the treatment of children in the and the wider policy issues that been unlawfully killed. criminal justice system and it raises, warrants an indepen-

After the ruling, Daniel Ma- about the ability of state agencies dent and open judicial inquiry. Picture: / reportdigital.co.uk Jess Hurd

16: The former Special 17: The Nazi BNP wins its 18: The Countryside and 20: Defendants facing murder 27: The “White list” of 10 Branch informer who first council seat in London Rights of Way Act legally charges will be encouraged to countries from which asylum confessed to murdering the for more than a decade in opened up areas of open plead guilty early to cut a third applications will be Belfast solicitor Pat Finucane the Goresbrook ward of countryside and common off their prison term, under draft presumed to be unfounded is jailed for a minimum of 22 Barking and Dagenham, land in south-east and north- guidelines issued by the by all European Union years. The Finucane family East London. west England for the first Sentencing Guidelines Council, countries is to be finalised in are demanding a public time. Nearly all areas chaired by Lord Chief Justice, December and has already inquiry. designated as open country Lord Woolf. been endorsed by the G5 or common land are covered countries – Britain, Spain, by the legislation. Germany, Italy and France.

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High crimes and misdemeanours

he parliamentary Tonge (who was sacked from her motion to impeach Tony front bench for speaking in de- Blair for “gross miscon- fence of the Palestinians). Tduct” over the war “What Blair said was contra- against Iraq was published in dicted by intelligence he had at late-November. Legal historians the time, he may have been sin- were dusting off their books to cere; the issue is whether he find that the last attempted im- misled us,” said Adam Price, peachment was of foreign secre- who added: “In the US, when tary Lord Palmerston in 1848 confronted with the crimes of over signing secret agreements President Nixon in the 1970s, that took Britain to war. people resurrected the impeach- Adam Price, the Plaid Cymru ment procedure, which had not MP who launched the campaign been used for a century. Now for the motion, said: “This is the people are saying there is no only way left to MPs to call the point doing it because there will Prime Minister to account over not be enough support in parlia- his conduct in the war against ment. But that depends on how Seems to be the hardest word… Iraq.” Those backing the motion many MPs speak up. I under- included members of Plaid stand the pressure some Labour Labour MPs who are standing that people make a public stand. Cymru, the Scottish National MPs will be under. But I’d appeal down at the next election. Whether people feel able to sign Party, Respect’s George Galloway to them to join up. There’s very little pressure the up to impeach Blair or not, they and Liberal Democrat Jenny “There are seven anti-war party hierarchy can put on them. have to do something.” “Although we technically only The charges against Blair – The impeachment motion: need one MP to put down the that he lied to parliament and the That a select committee be appointed to investigate and to motion, we’d like a big cross-sec- public over the war – are con- report to the House on the conduct of the Prime Minister in tion of parliament behind it. The tained in a document, A Case to relation to the war against Iraq, and in particular: campaign isn’t only in parlia- Answer; A first report on the po- (a) The conclusion of the Iraq Survey Group that in March ment. It’s outside too. There’s a tential impeachment of the Prime 2003 Iraq did not possess weapons of mass destruction and growing interest in a petition Minister for High Crimes and had been essentially free of them since the mid-1990s. supporting impeachment. We’re Misdemeanours in relation to the (b)The Prime Minister’s acknowledgement that he was asking people to contact their invasion of Iraq, drawn up by wrong when he asserted that Iraq was then in possession of MP and ask them to support the Glen Rangwala and Dan Plesch. chemical or biological weapons or was then engaged in active move. Rangwala exposed how Blair’s efforts to develop nuclear weapons or was thereby a current or “The impact of the attack on second ‘dodgy dossier’, suppos- serious threat to the UK national interest, or that possession of Fallujah and the casualties suf- edly proving Iraq was a threat, WMD then enabled Iraq to inflict real damage upon the region fered by the Black Watch has was based on a decade-old stu- and the stability of the world. been to highlight feeling against dent thesis. (c) The opinion of the Secretary General of the UN that the the war. Very many backbench To download the document, invasion of Iraq was unlawful. Labour MPs, especially from to sign the petition and for more (d) Whether there exist sufficient grounds to impeach the Scotland, will admit that pri- campaign information go to Rt Hon Tony Blair. vately. It’s more vital than ever www.impeachblair.org October 7: An employment tribunal 7: A reservist airman, 7: Teenage gang members 8: The first torture prosecution 17: Tens of thousands rules that the train drivers’ Mohisin Khan, who refused to who were named and of its kind in the world begins demonstrate against the union, Aslef, was wrong to take part in the Iraq war shamed under antisocial at the Old Bailey. Faryadi continuing war in Iraq. The expel active member of the because he did not want to behaviour orders for a two- Sarwar Zardad is charged with demonstration came on the British National Party Jay fight against fellow Muslims year campaign of intimidation conspiracy to torture and final day of the European Lee. The tribunal’s decision lost his appeal in the High and violence on an estate, conspiracy to take hostages at Social Forum which saw means that Lee, who has Court against his prosecution lose a landmark High Court a checkpoint in Afghanistan. 30,000 activists meet in stood for the BNP elections in by the RAF for going absent challenge which claimed that London. Bexley, is entitled to a cash without leave. widespread publicity had award of at least £5,000. breached their human rights.

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sending out incredible messages around the world when we re- ID cards get green light treat from those principles.” Despite the splits at cabinet level, Blunkett is pushing ahead in Queen’s Speech with ID cards. The Queen’s Speech confirmed that the Gov- he eight law and order New Labour look “tough”. ernment is determined to get this bills outlined in the Shami Chakrabarti, director law on to the statute books queen’s speech brought of Liberty, said: “Tough talk and before the election. Blunkett has Tthe total number of anti- tougher legislation is cheap. It shifted from wanting to issue a crime bills introduced since the doesn’t make us any safer from benefits ‘entitlement card’ to a 2001 General Election to 34. But crime, terrorism and the other full European-style ID card; a it’s impossible for the government great causes of fear. What it will huge computer system will be to get all its new bills onto the do is to undermine the very created to handle a National statute book before the next Gen- democracy that this government Identity Register; biometric data eral Election expected in May. and its allies across the Atlantic such as iris scans and finger- The only two measures that say they want to defend.” prints will be on British pass- Home Secretary David Blunkett Helena Kennedy also made it ports from 2005; with a plan to can be sure will actually make it clear that the Home Secretary issue ID cards from 2008. into law before the election are will face strong criticism from The NO2ID organisation has the identity card legislation and Labour peers if he pushes ahead been set up to oppose the gov- the bill setting up the serious and with a counter-terror package ernment’s planned ID card and organised crime agency, SOCA. that abolishes jury trials in ter- National Identity Register. Many of the other bills are rorist cases, warning: “The rule To find out more visit their

purely to make Tony Blair and of law does matter and we are website at www.no2id.net Picture: / reportdigital.co.uk Jess Hurd Finucane family reject public inquiries legislation

he family of murdered British Government over several nesses and documents together “Furthermore, this provision human rights lawyer important human rights cases. with all the powers usually exer- in the bill attacks the very inde- Pat Finucane have an- One of those involved in his cised by a Commissioner in a pendence of any such inquiry Tgrily denounced the In- murder, Brian Nelson, was public inquiry’. The family argue since it will not be vested with quiries Bill, which was published working for an undercover unit that: exclusive jurisdiction and con- in late-November, and have said of British Military Intelligence. “Clause 17 of the Bill is a trol. In addition, and in order to they cannot take part in any in- Retired Canadian Judge Peter wholesale departure from the be truly independent, the tri- quiry into his murder under the Cory was appointed by the Agreement and the Cory Recom- bunal will have to be interna- terms set out in the legislation. British and Irish Governments to mendation in that an inquiry es- tional in character and be The government had previously examine allegations of collusion tablished under this draft composed of judges of standing agreed: “In the event that a surrounding the Finucane and legislation will not have all the equivalent to Judge Cory. The public inquiry is recommended other controversial killings. powers usually exercised by a Finucane family cannot take part [by Cory] in any case, the rele- Judge Cory recommended a Commissioner in a public in- in any inquiry established under vant government will implement public inquiry into the circum- quiry since it gives the Minister these conditions.” that recommendation”. stances surrounding Pat’s murder the power to determine when the “We call upon all those who Pat Finucane, a lawyer from and identified the “basic require- inquiry sits in private and what signed up to the Weston Park Belfast, was murdered in front of ments” for a public inquiry. One material is to be withheld. These principles to ensure that they are his wife and children in 1989 by of these requirements was stated are self-evidently amongst the fulfilled and that Judge Cory’s the pro-British UDA. He had to be that ‘the Tribunal should most important powers exercised recommendation is implemented successfully challenged the have full power to subpoena wit- by inquiries.” in full.” November 25: Government unveiled 27: Blunkett announces the 28: The Court of Appeal 29: About 100,000 Iraqi 3: Sir John Stevens, the proposals that juries in trials first fundamental review of rules that torturers in foreign civilians – half of them women Commissioner of the for a range of offences under murder law for over 50 years, countries can be sued for and children – have died in Metropolitan police calls on the Theft Act or for child sex following a Law Commission damages in the English Iraq since the invasion, the government to change offences may be told if a report in August which courts. Four Britons who claim mostly as a result of airstrikes the law to give armed officers defendent has previous described the law as “a they were tortured in Saudi by coalition forces, according more protection against convictions in the same mess” and called for a major Arabia were given the right to to the first reliable study of the prosecution. The Home group of crimes. overhaul including whether pursue their cases against death toll from Iraqi and US Secretary David Blunkett the mandatory life sentence named Saudi officials. public health experts. promised to examine the for murder should be retained. issue.

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Paul Foot 1937–2004

Paul Foot speaking at Hyde Park in the early 1970s on the Hanratty campaign; and (right) fighting nursery closures in Hackney in 2002 ‘THAT MOST HUMAN AND INSPIRING OF M

OU WON’T regret this”, Paul Foot died on 19th July 2004 aged 66. Paul’s satisfied voice boomed down the phone. He had fin- Jane Deighton, Mike Mansfield, ished picking my brain about various wicked goings Geoffrey Bindman, Henry Blaxland, on at Newbury Magistrates “YCourt, Greenham Common and the Ministry Louise Christian and Deborah Coles of Defence. His impatience to get me off the pay tribute to a man who was a brilliant phone, so he could write up the story for his weekly Mirror column, transformed into a socialist writer and speaker, a tireless roar of laughter when I replied, “I’d better bloody not regret it”. Our professional col- campaigner against injustice and an laboration and friendship of 25 years began. One result was the life imprisonment of investigative journalist who helped free Michael Brooks, who had abused and mur- dered the young Lyn Siddons. Derbyshire innocent people from prison. He was also Police and the Crown Prosecution Service had ignored Brooks, and the damning evidence someone who will not only be missed by collected by Lyn’s family against him. They had chosen instead to prosecute Brooks’ everyone on the Left, but also by everyone young, vulnerable, black, stepson. Paul’s ap- proach was the same as when he was expos- who simply wants a better world ing corporations or fighting to free innocent

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Always strong, always clear ONE OF THE MOST indelible memories of Paul I have was a visit that I made to Homerton Hospital just after he had survived the discovery of an aneurysm. He was severely disabled and could barely move, but even in those stricken circumstances he was able to muster up his usual acerbic observations about the fact that, the day before, Tony Blair had dared to use Homerton Hospital to promote his own political agenda. He had a great admiration for the hospital, but thought that its achievements were hardly down to the Prime Minister. After his death, I wrote to [his partner] Clare with the following words: “Paul’s enduring support for the many victims of injustice, both social and political, has provided a lasting memorial and testament to his power of positive human endeavour. His was often a voice in the wilderness, always strong, always clear and focussed.” When writing these words, I had in mind a series of Picture: / reportdigital.co.uk Jess Hurd miscarriage of justice cases in which Paul had given unstinting assistance and information. Without him on the outside beavering away, coming up with new angles, providing inspiration and encouragement, none of these cases would have achieved the same profile. AN, BRILLIANT A sample of them runs as follows: Birmingham Six, Hanratty, Colin Wallace, the Bridgewater Four. Even when faced with seemingly overwhelming odds or adverse scientific findings, his tenacity would not weaken. It is that deep-seated F MEN’ commitment that makes the difference, and often it is only in the final moments of investigation and preparation that you people from prison. It was one of commitment asm and energy continued to rub off on me. may come upon that small detail which to Lyn’s family and their goal, utter respect for That enthusiasm seemed boundless. It was unravels what has hitherto been a solid the family and delight at each development. there even recently when he was struggling forensic ball. He brought much of himself, his learning and with the most ghastly pain. Quite remarkably, his pen over the last his connections to the campaign. He got stuck His love of competition seemed boundless few years has not remained still despite in with a brilliant focus and dogged persis- too. We used to meet fortnightly for lunch (I’d all the pain he must have suffered. He tence for as long as it took. He was always bring healthy salad on the days he was too managed also to attend meetings as well inspirational. unwell to go out, but it was egg and chips and as other social occasions. The last Paul cared and was careful. He was the only all things bad if he could make it to the café). occasion I saw him was when we both journalist I know who routinely asked me (and Days before he died (and after a salad lunch) happened to be at the National Theatre if he faced an imminent deadline he hounded he stood up, balancing himself with one hand to see David Hare’s incisive docu-drama me) to check his draft copy about my cases for on a chair and the other one on his stick, and – The Permanent Way – a searing accuracy. challenged me to a game of table tennis. I indictment of government and private In 1993 Paul exposed the Mirror bosses in ducked the challenge. That I do regret. enterprise’s inability to implement Health his Mirror column, just as he had exposed ● Jane Deighton & Safety on the railways. The Corporate countless other bosses in the column. The Manslaughter Bill, much heralded by column’s headline was ‘Look in the Mirror’ I GOT TO know Paul through seeing him at Straw and Prescott, has still to reach the That column was quintessential Paul – a so- meetings in Camden from the mid-sixties. Statute books. Without Paul, who is going cialist journalist of complete integrity. And I was a councillor at the time. There were to provide the journalistic thorn in the funny. And courageous. The Mirror bosses issues about housing and the lack of advice proverbial political side? At present, there sacked him for it. services with which we were both concerned. is no one to match him. He then became my client. I learnt from My main project was the Camden Law Centre ● Michael Mansfield, QC him even as a client. His confidence enthusi- which obviously attracted Paul. In 1969, in ▲

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Paul Foot 1937–2004 ▲ the Town Hall, he asked me Roy Jenkins ordered a public enquiry into the out of the blue if I’d be inter- murder conviction of James Hanratty, Paul in- ested in being Private Eye’s troduced me to the family, whom I have acted solicitor. They had just been for ever since. Paul’s powerful book Who sued by Lord Russell of Liv- killed Hanratty? had blown the prosecution erpool and were unhappy case out of the water, but the enquiry by Lewis with the way the case had Hawser QC was a whitewash. ‘Hung Drawn been handled. I think there and Hawsered’ was the Eye’s summary. Paul was a brief meeting with never gave up. Even after the Court of Appeal Richard Ingrams and I was upheld Hanratty’s conviction last year on the hired. It was a relationship of trust from the basis of DNA found on bits of clothing, Paul outset. With the Eye it continued for 15 years; remained convinced of Hanratty’s innocence. with Paul for the rest of his life. I heard he was upset with me because he At the time I was a partner in a firm of thought I had doubts. I am glad that we were trade union lawyers. I knew nothing about able to talk the case through amicably only libel but Paul’s invariable optimism and confi- two weeks before he died. dence encouraged me. Private Eye is not ex- Another common interest Paul and I had actly a socialist paper but Paul used it was Percy Shelley and the radical campaign- pragmatically to pursue aims which were cen- ers of the period after the French Revolution. tral to his beliefs: the exposure of exploitation Red Shelley was a masterly re-evaluation of and injustice. Those he targeted often reacted the poet whose socialism was airbrushed out with threats and writs but his judgment of of virtually all previous accounts of his life. people and his instinct for the truth were im- The reading of some of Shelley’s most famous peccable. Proving it in court was the only revolutionary lines at Paul’s funeral was a par- problem,which led to a few tactical retreats. ticularly fitting and moving part of that over- Over the years I found myself involved in whelming occasion many of Paul’s causes.When he left the Eye Many of Paul’s wittiest and most barbed and edited Socialist Worker I acted for him in sallies were aimed at the pretensions and contempt proceedings after he defied an order hypocrisies of lawyers, but he was always of Judge King-Hamilton by identifying the ready to use the law whenever he thought it Tory politician clients of a prostitute. He re- could help him in his fearless commitment to fused to accept that the true culprits should equality and justice. For him that commitment Ann Whelan (above): “I escape public condemnation.When, in 1974, was highly practical. It meant putting right contacted Paul about my lad wrongs done to individual human beings. It de- Michael, one of those convicted Colin Wallace manded the hard grind of detailed fact-finding in the Bridgewater Four case. “WE HAD a bizarre relationship. My and persistent campaigning. Political posturing I’d been in touch with many background was in the security services was of no interest to him. That is the lesson of people, they had sympathy in the 1970s. Our roles were reversed. I his life which I believe is most important for but wouldn’t touch it. But he was from a working class family but then believed in what he was lawyers. It is one of the many legacies of that doing. Paul was gutsy and went into the establishment. He was from most human, brilliant and inspiring of men. brought belief to the a ruling class background but took up the ● Geoffrey Bindman fight for justice. He cause of the working class. He was known could sniff it out. I drew to me, as we had to collect information on I JOINED THE Socialist Workers Party in inspiration from him.” protest and the Left. Then our lives 1977 after reading Paul Foot’s book Why You changed. I met up with him in 1987. He Should Be A Socialist. In the quarter of a cen- On a professional level, I was lucky enough turned up at my home after I was released tury since then, whenever I have doubted the to be briefed as junior counsel in the appeals of from prison. We just hit it off. He was one wisdom of continuing to be involved in a po- three of the defendants for whom he cam- of the few safety valves for people with litical party derided as part of the lunatic fringe paigned so hard: Colin Wallace, Michael nowhere else to go, including myself. His of British politics, I have been reinvigorated by Hickey and James Hanratty. Of these, his books and articles were stories the system reading Paul’s diverse written work or listening work for those convicted of the murder of Carl did not want to look at. My conviction to him speak. He always maintained that Bridgewater, of whom Michael Hickey was the would never have been overturned if he unique combination of irrepressible optimism, youngest, is probably the most impressive. It hadn’t written the book, Who Framed Colin cutting and hilarious mockery of the absurdi- must be remembered that the cold-blooded Wallace? It forced a key admission from ties of capitalism, martialling of the facts and shooting of the newspaper boy Carl Bridge- Thatcher and three government inquiries.” clear and simple presentation of the argument. water, when he disturbed a burglary at a farm- He made authentic democratic socialism seem house, was one of the most notorious crimes Jim Nichol like no more than common sense. of its time. Those convicted had committed “I MET Paul when I was 15 years old, about More recently I knew him in both a per- other serious and unpleasant crimes. Not only 40 years ago. Later, in 1972, I was to beg sonal and professional capacity. On a personal that, but it was a factually complex case, him to come to Socialist Worker, to leave level, he had an infectious enthusiasm, gen- which even Paul’s lucid prose in his book the lucrative Private Eye work to work for erosity and sense of humour, which made him Murder at the Farm could not reduce to a few virtually nothing on the paper. The one of the most loved people I have ever bullet points. He would be the first to ac- miscarriage of justice cases were only a known or am likely to know. But, more than knowledge that it was Michael’s mother Ann fraction of what he did. He was an that, he was a great listener and a great en- Whelan who was the single most important extraordinarily humble man. He had a way courager. He had a wonderful ability to make person in the campaign to overturn the con- of understanding oppression, and was able almost everybody he met, whatever their age victions. But it was Paul’s persistent exposure to translate what he saw in a way ordinary or background, feel good about themselves. of the injustice in his column in the Daily people could identify with. He lived for This, of course, was one expression of his po- Mirror which provided the momentum, which today to be able to change tomorrow.” litical philosophy, a belief in the fundamental culminated in the successful appeal. I became decency and potential of human beings. involved in the case, when that momentum

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had become irresistible. However, in 1989, quashed on appeal. After his near miraculous survival of a Paul and Jim Nichol, the solicitor for the ap- Finally, Hanratty. This was the first crimi- coronary aneurism five years ago we all knew pellants, had to endure the rigours of the first nal case cause celebre in which Paul was in- that Paul was living on borrowed time. How unsuccessful appeal conducted in an atmos- volved and he, more than anybody, was he recovered his near photographic memory phere of unrelenting hostility from the bench, responsible for the continuing disquiet about after three months of unconsciousness and with the ever-present suggestion that witnesses the conviction. His book, Who killed Han- semi-consciousness I still don’t understand. He called by the appellants had been coerced or ratty?, is and remains a brilliant analysis of this was left with quite severe physical handicap, bamboozled by the sinister triumvirate of extraordinary case. More importantly, the which he bore with tremendous courage, de- Foot, Nichol and Whelan. publicity which Paul gave to the case played a spite the immense frustration he felt at no If the Bridgewater case should rank as significant part in the campaign against the longer being able to humiliate us all at tennis Paul’s greatest achievement in the courts, the death penalty. Paul remained loyal through- and golf. Marcel Berlins in The Guardian, case of Colin Wallace follows close behind. out, not only to the cause, but also to the Han- commenting on the wonderful event at the Paul’s book Who framed Colin Wallace? is ratty family and, in particular, to Michael, Hackney Empire celebrating Paul’s life, said better than any fictional detective story and, Jimmy’s nephew, who campaigned so tirelessly. that he was irreplaceable. I am afraid that is had it not been true, it would probably have Although the DNA evidence ultimately pro- true. No-one else in the field has that special been dismissed as far-fetched. It is a story in vided an insuperable obstacle to the quashing combination of integrity, intellectual rigour, two halves: Colin Wallace’s involvement with of the conviction, what emerged in the appeal sharp wit and humanity. In particular, no-one the army and secret services in Northern Ire- was that there had been culpable failure by the else has such a deep reservoir of knowledge land in the early 1970s and his later convic- police to disclose crucial material, even by the and the ability to shine a light on the misde- tion for the manslaughter of a friend in standards of the day. In the context of a capi- meanours of company executives and politi- England. Paul’s work achieved success on tal case, this was truly shocking. And, despite cians by reference to historical precedent, both fronts: the government finally conceded the DNA, no-one has satisfactorily explained which was his stock-in-trade. Above all, he key facts about Wallace’s role in Northern Ire- how it was that a shopkeeper in Liverpool wrote with a translucent prose that allowed land and the circumstances in which he came identified Hanratty in her shop at a time which the facts to speak for themselves, which, as

to be dismissed, which had previously been made it impossible for him to have committed Brecht said of communism, is the simple thing, ▲ denied, and the manslaughter conviction was the murder. so hard to achieve.

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Paul Foot 1937–2004 ▲ We all miss him terribly. The challenge is to chioness families for justice. Only days before ideas to change things continue with the tradition of principled and he died he was asking for the latest news on As he wrote in the preface to an anthology persistent struggle against injustice, of which the quest by the families of those who died in of his writings, Words As Weapons: “The he was such a glowing exponent. the Potters Bar rail crash for answers. Paul also whole of society is a teeming mass of stories, ● Henry Blaxland QC understood the difficulties of bereavement grief many of them interesting and invigorating, being long and drawn out and of the problems the enormous majority of which, since they PAUL WAS A passionate socialist and believer for families when the media lose interest. don’t immediately involve important people in social justice, a lover of literature books and In 2001 I agreed to stand for parliament or their bank accounts, never get told. A so- history and a brilliant investigative journalist against Barbara Roche, for the Socialist Al- ciety founded on exploitation spawns count- and writer. He was very funny with a wry liance in north London, to highlight the injus- less injustices every day, all of which can and sense of humour, an engrossing and wise con- tice of the treatment of asylum seekers and should be exposed.” versationalist and self deprecatingly aware of when the campaign went on for longer than Paul’s writings are both a legacy and a chal- his own contradictions. I only got to know expected one of the compensations (for there lenge to all of us who believe in the same him as a personal friend relatively recently were downsides) was the opportunity to speak things to carry on the struggle to tell those sto- after his serious illness but then I wished I had on platforms with Paul. Paul had a particu- ries and to fight for justice. known him better for longer. larly good understanding of the craven nature ● Louise Christian Unlike other journalists Paul was always in- of the Labour Party’s response to immigration terested in the human side of any story. He scares and the connection to racism, his book PAUL WAS A ‘Friend of INQUEST’ for many never turned his nose up at yet another death in on the subject remains compelling reading. De- years. He trusted and respected our work and, custody, yet another racist attack or yet another spite having only recently recovered from ill- in giving a voice to some of the most margin- assault by police as being not all that news- ness and obviously often being in pain Paul alised and powerless people, he became their worthy. He always cared and was always in- would turn up in drafty meeting halls in friend and defender. He was willing to take on volved. Paul had a better understanding than Haringey to talk about the unpopular subject issues most would prefer to ignore. Nowhere any other journalist of the agony of the be- of asylum. was the power of the written word so reaved families in disasters. His investigative Paul’s many investigations, from miscar- poignant than when Paul wrote about a con- work on the truth behind the Lockerbie disas- riages of justice to the framing of Colin Wal- troversial death in custody, striking at the heart ter remains one of his most outstanding inves- lace, to the PFI financing of public services, of the issues – compassion with the plight of tigations. Long after other journalists had lost survive him, as does his wonderful book on the deceased and their family and anger at interest Paul continued to be interested in and the political ideas of the poet Shelley. Paul be- state violence, inhumanity and injustice. to cover the long ten year struggle of the Mar- lieved ardently in the power of words and Deborah Coles, co-director INQUEST

The Paul Foot, Our Left Foot Memorial, held at Hackney Empire on 10th October, is now available on DVD. It contains one hour and 50 minutes of edited highlights including Michael Foot, Tony Benn, Gareth Peirce, Richard Ingrams, Rory Bremner, Jeremy Hardy, Mark Steel and Eamonn McCann. For your copy(ies) please e-mail: [email protected] for details

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ELEPHANTS, THE PERFECT STORM AND THE NEW COVENANT Jack Kurzweil offers ‘a contribution to the dis- cussion of what happened in the American Pres- idential election and where we go from here’ while Haldane member Lucy Anderson reports on her experiences canvassing for John Kerry in the US. The following pictures are by Jess Hurd

This small commentary originally was part of the post-election discussion in the Wellstone Democratic Renewal club in Oakland – Berkeley. The version below is a somewhat modified and expanded version of the original. Jack Kurzweil

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great discussion has ensued about why George W. Bush won re-election, with some substantial number of his supporters voting against their own economic self interests. Many different expla- Anations have been offered ranging from the ig- norance of the electorate, the manipulation by the media, the inexplicable hold on the elec- torate by fundamentalist Christianity, the idea of “values”, the stealing of the election through voting machine skullduggery, the fears generated by 9/11, and much more. The flip side of this has been the problem of why John Kerry lost. The reasons advanced are similarly multiple. And each of the reasons generates its own solution. Those who believe that Kerry lost on ‘values’ advocate moving more to the ‘center’. Those who fault Kerry for the lack of an adequate programme call for moving to the left. Politically active people who have email have seen scores of analyses and many proposals for action. Most of these are very insightful and useful. But placed together, they invoke the fable of the blindfolded men and the elephant. You remember that one. The guy who feels the leg thinks of the elephant as a tree, the one who feels the ear imagines a bird, and the trunk re- minds yet another of a snake. If we are to more accurately apprehend the elephant, we should at minimum combine the observations and, better yet, remove the blindfold and look at the whole thing. So I want to try to look at the whole thing, or at least as much of the whole thing that I can see. And I’d like to try to do it so that pieces of the whole thing that I haven’t seen can be added to the concept of the whole. I think that that there is an underlying struc- tural change that has framed the development of this crisis: the transformation of the world economy that began in the 1960s. We all know about this process: – the revolution in automation, computeri- sation, communication, and transportation; – the accelerating application of science to industrial processes including in medicine, agriculture, and biotechnology; – the transformation of the American econ- omy from manufacturing based to service based; – the export and outsourcing of manufac- turing jobs; and all sorts of other things like that. The social consequences of this transfor- mation are equally well known. Let’s list a few: – trade unions in the private sector have been decimated and with that the weight of class based organisation in key sectors of soci- ety have been undermined; – wage levels have decreased significantly, forcing married women into the workplace in a process that has been quite autonomous from the feminist upheaval, in turn leading to considerable stress in the traditional notions of family (please note that I am describing); – although much new wealth has been cre- ated, social mobility has decreased as the ‘World Says No To The income and ownership gap has increased; Bush Agenda’, hundreds of – consumerism and its culture, simultane- thousands marched on the ously repellant and attractive, has made its eve of the Republican way into the fabric of American life and has a National Convention in powerful impact on values and behavior. New York City in September

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Now were this happening in isolation from other social and political upheavals, it would be difficult enough. But look at the other things that have been happening alongside: 1. The Civil Rights Movement and the fun- damental changes in the social structure that resulted; 2. The spread of that movement to Latinos, Asian-Americans, and Native Americans; 3. The powerful rise of the Women’s Move- ment and the assertion of the place of women in society; 4. The assertion of the sexuality of gays and lesbians and their demand for civil rights; 5. The rise of a powerful middle-class based environmental movement. All of these have been powerful emancipa- tory movements and we wouldn’t have missed them for the world – but each one of them sent a shock to the system and together they inter- acted with the growing economic dislocations in ways that give new meaning to the term synergy. Arising from and added to that mix is a new religious and spiritual Great Awakening in American life. From its beginnings, the Amer- ican nation has gone through a succession of fundamental social transformations, each of which has been accompanied by a Great Awak- ening. And we are in the middle of such a Great Awakening right now. The very First Great Awakening is dated from 1730-1760, with suc- cessive ones from 1800-1830 and 1890-1920. These awakenings didn’t so much correspond to times of purely economic crisis (there was none in the Great Depression) but to periods of transformation of all of society.

et us not be snide or clever about these awakenings. The First Great Awakening produced both religious ecstasy and the quality of indepen- dence from traditional authority that led the basis for the War of In- Ldependence. The Awakening of 1800-1830 gave us abolitionism and women’s rights as well as pro-slavery Southern Baptism, Mor- monism and Manifest Destiny. And the cur- rent Awakening has given us Bhuddism, Rajneesh, Sojourners, Spirited Action, Michael Lerner, environmental sensibility, and organic food as well as Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson, Branch Davidians, the rapture, scientific cre- ationism, and the Promise Keepers. We are ob- serving and participating in the spiritual complexity with which the United States re- sponds to profound social transformation. Religious fundamentalism is not a new phe- nomenon in American life. It has been there from the beginning of our history, sometimes in the background, sometimes in the fore- ground, but always there. And with Great Awakenings, fundamentalism comes into the foreground. The fundamentalist response to profound social transformations has been well analysed by Karen Armstrong in The Battle for God. She illustrates that it is a revolt against secular modernity when that moder- nity is connected to social upheaval and does not hold out the promise of a viable future. I’m sure that I’ve left things out and I invite others to add to the complexity, but what we

have here is the makings of a Perfect Storm. ▲ Enter the combination of powerful sections

Socialist Lawyer ● November 2004 ■ 19 SL40-pp17-23USelection.qxd 30/11/04 10:45 pm Page 20 ▲ of capital that opposed the legacy of both (I think that the collapse of socialism both nomic dislocations of American society. So the Roosevelts and the most reactionary sections as a vision and as a system has something to Democratic Leadership Council distances itself of the Christian Right, as noxious a collection do with this. Certainly the Cold War and the from working class and African-American of crypto-fascists that this fair land has ever global victory of capitalism must be added to voters because it has distanced itself from the seen. These guys are smart and ruthless and the mix, but I can’t quite come up with how to economic and social welfare issues (jobs, they spend decades building organisation and do that. Others may be more productive in fol- health care, education, child care, and the like) programme, always looking for ways of build- lowing this line of thought.) that are most important to those constituen- ing unity in their very diverse forces. Under- The New Democrats have embraced glob- cies. So it shouldn’t be a surprise that so many stand that the corporate types who fund Bush alisation, privatisation, and deregulation as in- of these very same workers either respond to likely don’t give a rat’s ass about abortion and evitable and desirable processes. There should right wing politics or abstain from elections. homosexuality, but the tax cuts and the de- be no surprise in that; their primary loyalties After all, as they are displaced from struction of the regulatory process make ac- are to finance capital. And these are the guys trade unions, the only class based quiescing to that agenda very comfortable. that gave us NAFTA and WTO. organisations in their lives, and As powerful as these forces are, their power Recall that Clinton and Gore proudly an- shunned by the party that would not have reached its current level were nounced that the “era of big government is it not for the politics of race. The electoral map over” at exactly the moment that it had tells it all. The states of the old Confederacy become utterly clear that it was necessary for contain half of the African-American popula- government to be a primary mover in ad- tion of the country and, with the exception of dressing the cumulative dislocations Florida, were all considered firmly in the Bush caused by globalisation and the fraying camp and left uncontested by the Democrats. of the New Deal inspired social safety Put that together with the continuing Repub- net. At the top, the Democratic lican programme of disenfranchising minority Party leadership has been promot- voters, who are the most reliable of Democ- ing and accelerating the very rats, throughout the country and you have a economic and regulatory poli- formidable combination. cies that advance the eco- So the organised Right has a far better col- lective understanding of the Perfect Storm than does the left or the mainstream Democrats. And it has a language and a programme to deal with that storm. The language is ‘family values’ and the programme is the ‘free market’. It doesn’t really matter that the free market im- poverishes ordinary workers or that small gov- ernment means expensive health care and education. There are problems and there are “solutions”. What matters is that the “solu- tions” are clearly articulated, have internal co- herence, and are in relation to a set of emerging cultural constructs. George Lakoff has been very useful in helping us to under- stand this process. There has not yet been any kind of coher- ent response to this period of social transfor- mation from the left. Certainly there is a list of demands, re- forms, and the like coming from the var- ious sections of the labor and progressive movements, but that list does not make for a coherent re- sponse and certainly not a vision of the future.

“Bush had a framework and a message. Kerry had confusion, absence of a clear alternative, a politically and programmatically divided campaign, lots of polling data and a staff that thinks politics to be a form of marketing”

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purports to represent them, where else do you At the base, the Democratic Party has been with those, the Perfect Storm. Bush had a suppose that they will go. only a little better. We have a collection of in- framework and a message. Kerry had confu- By adopting some of the programme of the terest based groups, some bigger and some sion, absence of a clear alternative, a politi- environmental and women’s movements and smaller: Labor, Environmentalists, Health cally and programmatically divided campaign, by orienting itself so exclusively toward the Care Advocates, Civil Libertarians, NAACP, lots of polling data and a staff that thinks pol- New Economy, the New Democrats have also etc., with only the most occasional common itics to be a form of marketing. Were it not for helped widen the class divide in the traditional planning and the absence of a common pro- the labor movement, African-American or- base of the Democratic Party. This helps to un- gramme. ganising, and the political advocacy organisa- derstand why the charge of the elitism of the tions, can you imagine the results? Democratic Party gets traction in working he basic rule in life is that you can’t What I find optimistic and reassuring is class and socially conservative communities. fight something with nothing. The how many Americans saw through the Bush The thing that white progressives should Right had spent 40 years develop- malarkey in 2004 with precious little help try to assimilate is the stubbornness with ing something and the Democrats from the leaders of the Democratic Party and which African-American voters refuse to walk had spent almost the same period figured out new ways to organise and mobilise away from their authentic interests and the running away both from their fail- themselves. As Lenin said, “The reaction equal stubbornness with which the New De- Tures in Vietnam and their successes in Civil against Reaction has begun”. mocrats refuse to elevate progressive African- and human rights. So you can have this ridicu- There is no question that we’re going to Americans to leadership positions. lous 2000 Presidential election where Gore pay big time in the next four years and how we hands the election, politically and procedu- fight back is going to determine how much rally, to Bush. longer than that we’re going to have to pay. ▲ And if that’s not bad enough, we then get Osama bin Laden, 9/11, the war in Iraq and,

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The boots of soldiers who were killed whilst serving in Iraq. Organised by ‘Iraq Veterans Against The War and Military Families for Peace’ and ‘Vietnam Veterans Against the War’, New York City, 2nd September 2004 (also pictured right)

“We need a national re-groupment of the organisations and movements that came together around the Democratic campaign and at least the beginnings of the development of common agenda” ▲ So what is required is a New Covenant for out how to pay attention to the South. Con- out the labor movement is self deceptive; America and progressives should try to figure ceding the South to the Republicans, not even 3. Principals in progressive movements out what it takes to become Covenant De- struggling to make it contested terrain would have to be in constant contact with each other mocrats (a label of my making – it already has continue to guarantee the Republicans a secure in order to learn each others agendas and con- been pointed out to me that the Covenant is a stronghold of more than 100 electoral votes. cerns. Common agendas don’t come without right wing, racist, armed militia based in Idaho Parenthetically, I think that language and work and trust; – but what the hell, if it sounds good, wear it.) framing are very important in this process. I 4. Progressive communities of trust have to At the centre of a New Covenant is a pro- also think that there has to be a programme transcend class, race and gender as well as gressive economic and social programme that and vision about which language and framing spiritual orientation; engaging and working can point the way through the current eco- are being developed. with differing viewpoints and perspectives is nomic dislocations. Framing this covenant is We need a national re-groupment of the or- crucial; the positive role of government in promoting ganisations and movements that came together 5. A progressive movement in the Democ- appropriate economic development, providing around the Democratic campaign and at least ratic Party has to operate at all levels, from the an institutional framework that makes it real- the beginnings of the development of a national to the local and vice versa; istic for people to be optimistic about their common agenda. We need local organising 6. Building a progressive movement in the De- future and the future of their families, and re- and conscious efforts at the development of mocratic Party is realistic, taking it over is not. constructing a social safety net. local coalitions, local agendas, and local vic- The coalition work of the Wellstone Club I think that the development of such a pro- tories. And there has to be a connection be- in this election has been good, but very ele- gramme is the job of the progressive wing of tween the two. mental. We registered more than 7,000 voters the Democratic Party. And this requires coali- TheWellstone Club recognises the follow- in predominantly minority and working class tion politics. ing: communities and made credible efforts to get It also requires some new thinking about 1. The need to be mindful that racial mi- them to the polls. We did make a significant the South. I have no idea just how this can be norities, but particularly African-Americans, contribution by very publicly having a regis- accomplished or just what forms it can take, are at the core of a progressive coalition; tration campaign among people on probation but the progressive movement has to figure 2. The idea of a progressive coalition with- and those off parole. Our poll-watching efforts

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A few Philadelphia cheers n October, I spent ten days tramping the nomic policies and health. In fact, those on streets of Philadelphia with the local the right of the labour movement here are unions campaigning for John Kerry. saying that Kerry lost precisely because he Despite the overall presidential result, I’m appealed too much to the ‘core’ centre left still very glad I put in the effort. The vote. Democrats in fact won Pennsylvania with In the suburbs, although more conserv- Ia swing in their favour. If only that had been ative, a similar picture on the top issues reflected elsewhere. emerged. In Republican areas, people still To an outsider, Kerry performed better in often can’t quite stomach the massive the presidential debates and had more Bush budget deficit. There was even a effective organisation and grassroots sup- small, but allegedly growing, ‘Republicans port. Spending time with the Philadelphia for Kerry’ movement with their own posters unions knocking on doors in deprived black and badges. Sadly, I found one registered neighbourhoods was a real eye opener. In Democrat who told me she would vote for contrast with UK cross-party political Bush because he ‘made her feel safe’. But emphasis on tackling anti-social behaviour the level of engagement was a joy to and supposed fear of crime, the concerns behold, as reflected by the eventual we heard on the doorstep were overwhelm- turnout. In this country, it has got to the ingly about health care and jobs. point when only saddo local councillors Pennsylvania has been one of the states like me put up political signs at election hardest hit by manufacturing job losses, time. In contrast, our local office was and there are now nearly 1.4 million besieged by keen Kerry supporters want- Pennsylvanians without health insurance. In ing lawn signs. More people watched the the relatively more well-to-do Italian neigh- Vice-Presidential debate between Dick bourhood, the story was the same. In one Cheney and John Edwards than watched house I canvassed in top Mafia territory, the the Oscars. Another key difference is the registered voters were named Anthony and participation rate by students. On one Carmella. Disappointingly, they were not at mass canvass session, busloads of col- helped to demonstrate the inadequacy of the home. I did also find myself wondering how lege students arrived from all over the state election process even in a progressive congres- the local Democrats win elections in and from New York to help out. Much of sional district. Although we developed some Philadelphia with such filthy streets. this enthusiasm was generated by the relationships with labor and minority commu- In general, the unions were obviously reaction to the war against Iraq and the nities, it is only a beginning. Our relationships having a vital influence – not always posi- desire to get rid of Bush. However, in the with the health care, housing, and environ- tive. Several workers we met were not UK we could have much to learn also from mental communities have not yet begun to take happy about the decision of the the active voter registration campaigns run shape. Nor are we connected to issues sur- Philadelphia union confederation to back by public authorities, political parties and rounding education. These things will happen sitting Republican Senator Arlen Specter community groups. if club members take initiatives and if the club over his Democratic challenger. Specter The climate was good for Kerry in welcomes and supports these initiatives. played a key role in the Clarence Thomas Philadelphia. Despite the terrible result of At the very moment that the Presidential elec- hearings in trying to discredit the testimony four more years of Bush, we can learn from tions are still raw in our feelings, the 2006 Cal- of Anita Hill that she had been harassed by the campaign here, by listening and ifornia election appears on our plate. There will Thomas. Nevertheless, the union organis- responding more strongly to concerns be a powerful effort to extend the Schwarzeneg- ing effort for Kerry was impressive, includ- about the war, by concentrating on involv- ger coup into a major Republican advance in ing mass targeted literature at groups of ing more people in why voting is important, California. On the other side, we have the op- workers such as airline and public service and by focusing on making the UK a less portunity to be part of the process of advancing workers, and counteracting the dirt thrown divided place though our education, hous- candidates and initiatives that will help to crys- against Kerry on his Vietnam record. For ing, health, welfare rights and social inclu- tallise a progressive majority. ■ those on the left who say there was no dif- sion policies in particular. And next time, ● Jack Kurzweil is the Treasurer of the ference between Kerry and Bush, this liter- let’s all go to Ohio. Wellstone Democratic Renewal Club, a new ature did a very good job of proving them ● Lucy Anderson Democratic Party club in Oakland, California that wrong and hammering home the details – Lucy Anderson is an Equalities Officer at the is participating in building a progressive wing of for example, on childcare, abortion, eco- TUC and a Labour councillor in Camden, the Democratic Party.

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2000 2001 3,000 Number of ASBOs issued

2,000

1,000

Labour’s election planners believe the party can outflank the Tories on law an ‘STAY INDOORS AND DO

any of Home Secretary David neighbours. Witnesses bringing orders will words, “that existing measures to tackle anti- Blunkett’s bills, such as the be able to use screens or give evidence by social behaviour are used and to drive forward draft Terror Bill he will publish video link and the number of courts special- new policy and action”. early next year and the new ising in anti-social behaviour will increase This was followed in November 2003 with compulsory drug tests for from 12 to 41. the Anti Social Behaviour Act. As if that was those arrested, are primarily Talk of dealing with anti-social behaviour not enough, there is also the Government Mthere for electoral purposes – they don’t have started in 1998 when the government intro- Action Plan, “Together: tackling anti-social be- much chance of reaching the statute book. duced the ASBO with the Crime and Disorder haviour”. Before the 1997 General Election Michael Act. Ministers were unhappy with the slow re- The recent Act is like many of New Howard, when he was Home Secretary, sponse in bringing them in, so introduced sev- Labour’s criminal laws – cumbersome, dra- pushed through draconian sentencing legisla- eral new initiatives to force their use. The conian and, at times, farcical. The farcical el- tion, including “three strikes and you’re out” Police Reform Act 2002 extended the power ement is reflected in the reference to a for burglars, with the key purpose of accusing of an order to cover the whole country. In Jan- devastating epidemic which may have escaped Tony Blair and New Labour of being “soft on uary 2003 the Home Office set up the Anti- your notice: crime” if Labour voted against it. Social Behaviour Unit to ensure, in its own “Many people are concerned about the Blunkett is trying to play the same game effect of hedges that are out of control. Al- with the Tories and the Lib Dems in the run- though common law rights entitle people to up to the general election and the Queen’s cut overhanging branches back to the prop- Speech shows that we can expect him to high- “This Act is like many of erty boundary line, they can do nothing about light the importance of Anti Social Behaviour hedge height. The Act changes that! As of the Orders (ASBOs) as part of that strategy. New Labour’s criminal 1st October 2004 local authorities have been Barely a month goes by now without some given the power to charge for complaints and new initiative by New Labour to increase the laws – cumbersome, issue notices to those with high hedges, cut powers of ASBOs. draconian and, at hedges and charge for the work.” Cuddly Lord Falconer made one recent The draconian element is the increasing announcement of a crackdown on nuisance times, farcical” ease of enforcement and variety of orders and

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2002 2003 2004 Picture: / reportdigital.co.uk Jess Hurd aw and order but, as Matt Foot shows, one of its main planks is just dry-rot D DON’T DO ANYTHING’

penalty notices that can be issued. Blunkett The definition of anti-social behaviour is so sentence. These people will leave prison having boasts that there have been 6,000 child curfew broad it could catch virtually any of us. received no rehabilitation and will more than orders and 150 dispersal orders. These are Anyone acting “in a manner that caused or likely return to the communities from where simply orders against young people to make was likely to cause harassment, alarm or dis- they came. It doesn’t matter how much Blun- them stay indoors. The orders prohibit them tress to one or more persons not of the same kett shouts about the victims of crime, the sim- from going to certain areas and “congregat- household” can be considered to be anti-social plistic ASBOs that instruct alcoholics not to ing”, but offer no alternative. and served with an ASBO. It is the frightening drink or bored youths not to hang about in The unsurprising result of the endless pres- vagueness of the definition that explains why their neighbourhoods cannot begin to address sure from the government to impose ASBOs there have been orders prohibiting a young the causes of crime – and therefore cannot help has been an increase in the number of orders boy from playing football and an 87-year-old the victims. issued (see the graph above), which Ministers great grandfather from being sarcastic. It costs £36,000 to lock someone up for a then quote in order to prove the serious and The latest Home Office figures are from year in our, already full, prisons. Wouldn’t it be widespread nature of the problem they are 2002 and show that more than a third of better in many cases to use that money to pro- tackling. ASBOs are breached. More than two thirds of vide facilities such as youth centres and proper Although the orders are civil and therefore those sentenced for breach receive a custodial support for beggars and prostitutes? are supposedly a voluntary prohibition on sus- Socialist lawyers need to look to join up pected offenders, a breach of them is a crimi- with groups in the community who have taken nal offence. They have a minimum duration of a stand against the ASBO. It is refreshing to two years and can last for life. Here we see ‘The simplistic ASBOs see the number of groups that are speaking out what the orders are really about – criminalis- including, among others, the Howard League, ing and imprisoning such offenders. A breach cannot begin to Inquest, Young People Now, Community Care of an order can lead to a five-year prison sen- and Rainer. The ASBO by its broad nature af- tence. A long time ago we decided as a civilised address the causes of fects a wide spectrum of people from beggars society that it was not right to send prostitutes crime – and therefore to prostitutes to youth. If we can bring these and beggars to prison. ASBOs have changed groups together we can challenge the very ex- all that. cannot help the victims” istence of ASBOs. ■

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EYE-WITNESS IN JERUSALEM EYE-WITNESS IN JERUSALEM EY ONE OF THE SLOGANS ON THE WALLS ROUND THE SCHOOL READ ‘GAS THE ARABS’

Haldane member Hannah Brooks has been working for the World Council of Churches Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel (EAPPI). This is her personal account of her time there

20th September 2004 there as part of her newly discovered Kabbalah faith. I’m I have now been in Jerusalem for over a week. not sure whether she realised that the tomb is in Occupied Surprisingly I had no problem at all in getting into Israel Territory, but Israeli peace groups felt that it was incredi- despite the stamps in my passport for Syria, Cuba and the bly insensitive of her to go there. Socialist Republic of Vietnam. It took perhaps only ten The Israeli authorities are building their ‘Separation minutes to get through security and the exchange about Wall’ to incorporate Rachel’s Tomb on their side of the bar- the Syrian stamp went something like this: rier, relegating the Palestinian residents in between the Is- Security: Why did you go to Syria? raeli checkpoint and the shrine to a sort of no-man’s land. Me: On holiday They will no longer have unrestricted access to Bethlehem, Security: Do you have any friends or family there? nor will they be allowed into Jerusalem. The tomb is sur- Me: No rounded by five-meter high concrete walls guarded by sol- Security: Have a nice stay in Israel. diers and Palestinians cannot go into the shrine. Some fear So, pleasantly straightforward, although I think that that an illegal settlement may be built there. myself and the other British were quite fortunate as some Saturday was the first day away from the rest of the of the Scandinavians with whom I am now working spent group, most of whom have gone off to work in villages and two to three hours coming through security at Ben-Gurion towns in the West Bank such as Hebron, Nablus, Yanoun Airport. and Jayyous, which are all towns affected in some way by The first week has mainly been doing some training – the occupation – by the separation fence/wall, checkpoints learning a bit of Arabic and Hebrew and meeting the other or by violent settlers. I am staying in Jerusalem although I Ecumenical Accompaniers. will probably be going to work in Ramallah for some of my Some of the interesting things that we’ve done this week time here. have been to see some of the historic sights of Jerusalem – On Saturday morning I went up to the Huwarra check- the Wailing Wall, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre (which point which monitors mainly Palestinians crossing between is believed to be the site of Jesus’s crucifixion, burial and the towns of Huwarra and Nablus. We travelled to the resurrection) and just walking round the Old City which is checkpoint with some women from an organisation from divided up into the Christian, Jewish, Armenian and Machsom Watch, which is an Israeli women’s organisation Muslim quarters. Unfortunately we weren’t able to go to that monitors many of the checkpoints and writes up re- the Dome of the Rock (which is very important to Muslims ports as well as acting as intermediaries between Palestini- as it is where Mohammed ascended to heaven) because it ans trying to get through the checkpoints and the Israeli is considered too dangerous; so if you go you have to be ac- soldiers. companied by armed Israeli guards (whether you want to What seemed odd to me is that this is a checkpoint be- be or not). tween two Palestinian towns in the occupied West Bank so On a slightly more political, and perhaps more bizarre it is not to provide security for the Israelis. Cars go through note, a few of us from the group went on a demonstration in two lanes, those with Israeli plates go by in one lane and near the site of Rachel’s tomb which is situated next to don’t usually have to stop, everyone else has to go in the Bethlehem. The reason behind the demonstration was that, other lane and have to stop, get out and have their car as some of you may have heard, Madonna was visiting searched. This can take some time if there are a lot of cars

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EM EYE-WITNESS IN JERUSALEM EYE-WITNESS IN JERUSALEM

and ambulances also have to wait in this queue. Everyone “We then While I was standing at the checkpoint with Katya (an- wanting to go through on foot has to pass through the other EA from Denmark), we were told to move away and gates and then have their IDs checked by the soldiers. Gen- had our that we were not allowed to write or take pictures. Our erally there were ten to fifteen young men being kept in passports passports were taken off us and taken away to be checked. what looks like a cattle-pen the soldiers call “Jara”, mean- taken off us They were given back but we were then told to move fur- ing sewage, while they have their IDs checked. It seemed to ther back as we were disturbing the soldiers. take them about an hour to do this before the young men and taken I also met one of the refusenik soldiers – he has spent 18 were allowed through. Many of them were students going away to be months in an army prison for refusing to serve in the Israeli through to the university in Nablus. Nina from Machsom army. He is only 22 but is amazingly calm and determined Watch also told us about negotiations she had to have with checked” about what he had to do. He has an appeal coming up and soldiers to help a man through to have treatment at the I am hoping to meet up with his lawyer. hospital and for a Jordanian lawyer whose papers were in

arabic that the soldiers could not translate, so they just re- 29th September 2004 ▲ fused him entry. The time here is in confusion at the moment, much like

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EYE-WITNESS IN JERUSALEM EYE-WITNESS IN JERUSALEM EY ▲ most things here. In Israel the clocks went back one hour for autumn, in the West Bank and Gaza they don’t go back until next month. This means that when you travel between East Jerusalem and West Jerusalem – the time changes. It also means that the Israeli organisations that we are work- ing with are working on one time and the Palestinian or- ganisations on another. Continuing the work with Israeli peace groups, Eva, Camilla (from Sweden and Denmark) and I met up with Arik Diamant who is the Director of the Courage to Refuse Movement. The movement represents over 600 Israelis who are refusing to fight in the Occupied Territories, many of whom have been to prison several times for their refusal. Arik had done his service and had spent some time in the Occupied Territories but from this time and what he has since seen and heard, he is now convinced that the occu- pation is doing nothing for Israel’s security or for protect- ing Israel and in fact is making the situation much, much worse. He thinks that this movement could be the start of a huge change in Israeli society and is sure that more and more reservists will refuse to serve in the Occupied Terri- tories. On our return to Jerusalem we were greeted with the sound of police sirens and ambulances – a suicide bomber had blown herself up in French Hill, only a mile or so away from where we are staying in East Jerusalem. The tension that you always seem to feel in the city was heightened, with the Israelis understandably fearful and the Palestinians nervous about potential curfews and checkpoint closures. On Thursday, we went back to Tel Aviv to meet the five refuseniks who have just been released from military prison having served around 18 months. The big Israeli peace or- ganisations – Peace Now and Yesh Gvul had organised a rally to celebrate their release from prison. The five are all young men, age around twenty to twenty-one who have refused to do their compulsory three years military service. There was lots of music (good) and lots of speeches in Hebrew (bad, as I only know Shalom so far). But there was a real spirit of optimism and hope which was good to see. In the other time zone – Palestine – I travelled to Hebron to the south of Jerusalem to meet up with some other EAs (Ecumenical Accompaniers) who are based in the town. Hebron is well known in Israeli and Palestinian society for the violent (and armed) settlers who live in the old city in Hebron and in a settlement on the outskirts. One of the jobs that the EAs do is escort the pupils at the Cordoba girls’ school into school and home again because of the vi- olence from the settlers who live in the area. The girls have to walk through two Israeli Defence Force checkpoints on their way to school (I think that the idea is that they are there to keep the peace between the Palestinians and the settlers) and often the girls who are aged five to fourteen have to open their school bags as they pass through. The picture above right should give you some idea of what it is like for the girls where they have to walk to get to their “It was hard IDF on its roof, but the family that lived there left about a school and then get back home each day. year ago. Frankly, polite soldiers or not, it was hard for me As there were six of us, four visiting and two resident we for me to to understand how these families live in the way that they painted the school wall during the school day which runs understand do. from age eight to twelve, to cover the graffiti which had Hebron is the only town in the West Bank that has an covered the outer school wall and gate. (One of the pic- how these International presence that has been agreed upon by the Is- tures is of us painting) One of the slogans on the walls families live raelis. Six countries have had an agreement since Oslo that round the school read “Gas the Arabs”. in the way observers would monitor the situation in the town because We walked some of the girls back to their homes after of the high level of tension especially round the historic/bib- school and were invited in for coffee and tea. One of the that they do” lical sites in the old city. They are called the Temporary In- homes that we visited has the IDF camped out on the roof, ternational Presence in Hebron (TIPH) their remit is only they’ve apparently been there for seven years. The family to observe and to report back to their governments and to told us that sometimes the soldiers are polite but they also the Israeli government. They attend at incidents between showed us piles of rubbish that has been dropped down settlers and Palestinians and when the IDF break into Pales- from the roof by the IDF. tinian homes. We met one man, who had lived in his home There is another home closer to the school which has the for forty years and had worked as a teacher for UNWRA

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EM EYE-WITNESS IN JERUSALEM EYE-WITNESS IN JERUSALEM ual does not seem to translate into any real change in our government’s position or any condemnation of Israel’s ac- tions in the West Bank and Gaza. I visited an abandoned village called al-Lajjun with an Is- raeli group called Zuchrot, which means Remembrance in Hebrew. They are concerned with remembering the Pales- tinians who were expelled from their homes in 1948 and have not been allowed to return to live there although some of them only live a few miles from their former homes within Israel. Around 1200 people had lived in the village and we were shown round the ruins of the village by the organisers of the tour and by former inhabitants who told us their mem- ories of their lives there. You can see the organiser’s version of the days events at www.nakainhebrew.org/index.php?. id=168 My next experience was to be in a village that had been abandoned in 2002 but that the people have now returned to with the support of Internationals living in the village. There are two people from my programme currently living and in the last month had been broken into twice by the in Yanoun and other internationals regularly visit when IDF. We saw the broken door frame and he told us that help is needed. Help was needed this week because of the the other four families had moved out of his block in the olive harvest which has just begun and is the time when last couple of years. He said that he doesn’t bother calling the villagers are most at risk of being attacked by settlers TIPH because they can’t actually do anything and can only living in the nearby settlement of Itamar. stand and take notes and take photographs. Again, this place has to be seen to be believed. Yanoun It’s very hard to get across how it felt like to be in is a beautiful sleepy village not far from Nablus to the north Hebron – seeing armed soldiers on street corners and then east of the West Bank and surrounded by hills. The people armed Israeli settlers strolling casually down the streets, it have a very traditional way of life and depend on their olive takes your breath away. trees and their sheep/hens for their living. On Sunday night I visited Sawahreh which is on the out- Behind the valley a large (illegal) settlement – Itamar – skirts of Jerusalem and is one of the towns that is being di- has been built up which has extended up to the top of the vided in two by the Separation Wall. It really is a wall in hills looking down onto the village. The extension seems to this part, it is a massive concrete structure – nine/ten metres be made up of warehouses, watch towers and electricity high and can be seen from miles around. It was the first pylons and this extension is recognised by the Israeli gov- time that I had seen it close up and stood next to it to ernment as illegal, unlike Itamar itself which is supported watch a football game between the Peace Cyclists who set by the government despite being within the West Bank and off from London in August and a Palestinian team. The behind the 1967 green line. At night the spotlights from team in Sawahreh are doing some work with families who the settlement light up the valley and give the impression of are separated by the wall and trying to get permits for those a prison camp. It makes the village a pretty tense place to on the Palestinian side to visit those living on the Israeli be as with the lights and the watchtower it makes you feel side. that you are being constantly watched. One other interesting thing from last week – a New On my first morning I joined one of the other EAs who Zealand doctor staying at our guest house told me that a was working with a family from the village who also had British MP was being treated at the Macassar hospital the help of their two older sons who had travelled back down the road where he was working and that he would from university specially to spend two days helping with be happy to be visited. It was Ian Gibson MP and he had the harvest. It’s actually a pretty nice thing to do, olive pick- been travelling in the West Bank when he had a minor ing: fantastic views to the Jordan valley, climbing trees, stroke – and after being collected by a Palestinian ambu- drinking tea and coffee... Something that some north lance he had then been held up in the ambulance for almost London types would pay good money to do if it were any- two hours while trying to come through a checkpoint to get where but here. to hospital in Jerusalem. Eventually he was permitted to Needless to say the peace was shattered shortly after we pass through after being transferred to an Israeli ambu- had eaten lunch by the sound of gun shots. After some fren- lance and was taken by armed guard into the Macassar zied phone calls to the two other EAs who had been work- Hospital. He was in good spirits when I saw him but was ing on the other side of the valley we learned that two also clearly incensed by what had happened to him and settlers had come down from the settlement in a jeep. Ac- the way he had been treated when he had been visibly ex- cording to the two Swedish EAs who were present, the sol- tremely ill in the ambulance. diers had initially come down and told them that it was too dangerous for them to pick their olives because the set- 12th October 2004 tlers could come down and that they would not be able to This week should perhaps be headed ‘news from Jerusalem protect them and when the settlers did come indeed they and Yanoun’ as I spent a few days there last week. Another were unable to protect the villagers. week of varied activities out here, which started with a visit One of the men was badly beaten by one of the settler to the very British Deputy Consulate General in East men who had then had fired shots into the ground near Jerusalem and ended with the assault of a villager in where he lay and then up into the air. The soldiers were ac- Yanoun by a settler. tually present when this happened but turned away to I won’t trouble you with the details about our visit to move away the two internationals and the rest of the man’s the British Consulate save to say that he was not unsym- family. The soldiers who were present then spoke with the pathetic and was interested in receiving reports from us settlers who must have said that the man had started the in-

about events in the West Bank. Unfortunately it would cident as they were then getting ready to arrest him, de- ▲ appear that any sympathy that he may have as an individ- spite him being the one lying on the ground injured and

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EYE-WITNESS IN JERUSALEM EYE-WITNESS IN JERUSALEM EY ▲ the settlers standing there with a couple of guns apiece. (I think I should be getting used to seeing all these guns around but I’m really not – these settlers carry these huge machine gun things like the soldiers as well as handguns). Members of Ta’ayush – an Israeli group – had been called and arrived very quickly on the scene as they had been interviewing the family of the Palestinian taxi driver who had been murdered by a settler not far from Yanoun only a few weeks before. They were able to negotiate in Hebrew with the soldiers to ensure that the Palestinian man was not arrested and taken away. Unfortunately no-one was able to make any headway on persuading the soldiers to do anything about the settlers and they were just free to go home. The following day a group of Israelis had been planning to come to help with the olive harvest and I met up with about forty of them on my way back to Jerusalem. They had been followed from Jerusalem by police and army ve- hicles and had then been stopped on the outskirts of Aqraba, a town just next to Yanoun and told that they could not go any further. The army produced a document which meant that the whole area around the village was a closed military zone meaning that Israelis could not enter apparently for their own protection. This means that the Yanoun villagers are still unable to harvest their olives in the areas close to the settlement as it is simply too dangerous without internationals present. Even with internationals present it is clearly dangerous but at least there are witnesses to what happens and more of a tween the Jerusalem municipality and Ramallah. On “There is a possibility that something will be done. The army has Sunday morning, there was an unusually large crowd of agreed that they will be present on three days in November people pressing to get through at 8am when we arrived kind of when they say the harvest can take place. They and the vil- there. We later found out that this crowd included 300 tension lagers know that there is no possibility that all the olives school children who were trying to get through from Ra- around as no- can be harvested in just three days. mallah to go on a school trip to Haifa in the north. They Another depressing day to tell you about – and, yes, it’s had been there since 7am and by 8.30am only around half one is quite from the checkpoints. Again, like the guns, I’m not sure of the group had got through. Some of the boys gave up sure what is whether I will get used to the ritual humiliations that and were just walking back to Ramallah, the teachers were happen at these places but I’m sure not used to them yet. I desperately trying to get the rest of them through to the going to went out with two of the women from Machsom Watch buses on the other side. This was extremely difficult in the happen when and we went to a few of the checkpoints that surround the huge melee of people who have to go in single file through the powers Jerusalem area. Qalandiya is one of the biggest and is in be- two separate turnstiles where they have every pocket of their bag checked and then through to the end where they that be finally have their IDs checked. decide that it The turnstiles are extremely awkward and for women carrying children or with children in prams/pushchairs and is time to for older people/disabled people they can be impossible to declare negotiate. I’m not able to tell you whether the school trip [Arafat] managed to get off in the end – but I’m sure that it’s not the first or the last time that it will happen. officially I think I’m going back to Hebron next week as the sit- dead” uation there seems to be getting worse. I also have some meetings planned with some more lawyers working here to try and talk about getting Israeli and Palestinian lawyers co-ordinating their efforts on human rights cases. The people I have spoken to seem to feel that there is really no organisation that brings them together.

7th November 2004 Arafat. What to say about the situation? Being here I really know no more than you do about what’s going on. Every- one is talking and speculating about Arafat – whether he is dead or alive, where he should be buried, where he will end up being buried and who will succeed him. I was in Ramallah, (where the PA headquarters are and where Arafat was confined to until last week) today and things seemed to be no different to normal – perhaps a few more journalists in the one restaurant serving food during the day during the month of Ramadan. In Jerusalem secu- rity seems tighter but a lot of people are saying that is normal during Ramadan. It’s a strange kind of normality

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EM EYE-WITNESS IN JERUSALEM EYE-WITNESS IN JERUSALEM mind when you travel perhaps twenty miles, from Ramal- lah to Jerusalem, first coming through one checkpoint then being stopped to have your ID checked and then stopped again and this time you have to get out and put your bag through an x-ray machine. There are a lot more police and soldiers about around the Old City and its harder and harder for the buses and taxis to know where and when they are allowed to go. There is a kind of tension around, though, as no-one is quite sure what is going to happen when the powers that be decide that it is time to declare him officially dead. On 14th October I travelled again to Hebron, but this time not to stay in the city itself but instead in a small vil- lage in the South Hebron hills, Al-Tuwani. This is a village that has been attracting a disproportionate (to its size – there are only 150 people in the village) amount of public- ity because of recent attacks on internationals who have been accompanying school children from the nearby vil- lage of Tuba to the school in Al-Tuwani. The attacks have been from Israeli settlers from the nearby settlement in Havat Ma’on who for several years have been attacking the farmers when they approach too close to the settlement, that is when the villagers try to get to their own olive trees close to the settlement. The attacks on the children which had for a time prevented them from getting to school was what attracted the international pres- ence. In the previous couple of weeks two volunteers from the Christian Peacemaker Team (CPT) had been attacked, army had been in the middle. The children themselves were with one having her leg broken and the other having his not convinced that they were safe even with the army and lung punctured. The two other volunteers, one from took the long road home. Amnesty and another from Operation Dove were also at- Settlers also came down and started picking some of the tacked – all this happened while they were walking the chil- villager’s olives from the trees. This meant that although dren to school. Understandably, CPT felt the need for a the farmers hadn’t planned to start the harvest until later, retreat (in all senses of the word) so myself and two others they felt they could not risk leaving the olives any longer Ecumenical Accompaniers went out for a few days to and so the harvesting started first thing on Monday morn- maintain an international presence in the village together ing. It felt odd sitting looking on the hillside watching the with Deborah, an American who spoke fluent Hebrew and forest with my mobile phone ready to make all the calls to Arabic. the army and the police and the Red Cross in case some It’s strange, but as with my time in Yanoun I really had people came running out of the forest. a lovely four days. Life is hard, the people don’t just have It sounds crazy and really isn’t it crazy? to struggle with the fear of attacks and not being able to get The place did really get to me. These people have so to their land; every day, drinking water has to be brought little and are so generous, yet they are being pushed and from the well at the bottom of the village; travelling to the pushed by a small group of fanatical zealots who think that nearest town is difficult because they cannot use the Israeli they have a God-given right to the land. road that crosses just down from the village and most taxis I’ve been out olive picking a few times in the last few will not risk even trying to cross it for fear of being stopped weeks with groups of Israelis organised by Ta’ayush and by the police or army. But despite all this the people were Rabbis for Human Rights. This really is a highly organised so kind to us and happy that we were with them in their operation with the peace activists from both groups trying village. We were invited into homes every evening to share to co-ordinate Israeli and international volunteers to pro- the evening Ramadan meal and even saw some middle east- vide a presence in Palestinian villages and towns where they ern soaps as well as some live Palestinian dancing. have requested it for the olive harvest. The buses leave While I was there the army had agreed to escort the chil- Jerusalem at the frankly ungodly hour of 5.45am so to dren to and from school and had closed the area to all but arrive in the villages early enough to be useful, as the farm- the children and one Palestinian adult. So instead of walk- ers have usually been out in the fields since 6am. I have ing with the children we went out to look-out for them been really impressed by the commitment of the people from the hillside where we could see them cantering over who go and do this on their days off work and with the di- the hill loaded onto two donkeys. On the third morning rector of the Rabbis, Arik Ascherman, who I’m sure can’t that I was there the children passed us in some distress and be just be one person as he does so much with seemingly told us that a group of settlers had emerged from the forest limitless energy. and thrown stones at them. They did not want to stop for There has been some progress in the courts this year as long and were anxious to get on to get to school on time. well – the army had been providing protection for most At the end of the school day we went up to the school. The villages for only three days during the olive harvest. Clearly children came out and made it quite clear by rushing down not enough time to pick all the olives in the dangerous to their donkeys and starting off that they did not want to areas. Last week a petition brought by the Rabbis for wait for the army and preferred to take the much longer Human Rights and the Association for Civil Rights in Israel route (10km) rather than take the shorter route with the resulted in the army agreeing to be present in the villages army. Talking to the soldiers when they arrived, they told for as many days as they need for the harvest. The bigger us they had not been on duty that morning but that they issue of year-long access to their land is still to be decided. ▲ had heard some settlers had thrown stones but that the I also spent a few days in Nablus which is one of the

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EYE-WITNESS IN JERUSALEM EYE-WITNESS IN JERUSALEM ▲ hardest places on the West Bank to get in and out of. It’s “I haven’t cott and this is maybe something you can all think about. surrounded by checkpoints – one of which is Huwarra, An Israeli group Ta’ayush have a list of companies/prod- which I’ve talked about before – so most people who live talked that ucts that are from settlements but some sort of wider boy- in Nablus have to stay in Nablus. It also has an Israeli mil- much about cott may be needed to have any impact. itary camp on the mountain over the city and there are fre- Finally, last week on Tuesday I travelled up to the north quent army incursions into Nablus. It’s a big bustling city the wall, but near Tulkarem with a group of Mexican artists who are but there are regular curfews and shootings and combined it really is a here with a group called Artists against the Occupation, with the difficulty in getting in and out it seems impossible monstrosity” they have been doing some amazing paintings on the sep- for anyone to lead any sort of normal life here. aration wall. I haven’t talked that much about the wall, but It was closed off completely last week because the Tel it really is a monstrosity. It not only looks ugly and is ru- Aviv suicide bomber came from a refugee camp inside ining the beautiful Holy/Promised Land but it is dividing Nablus. The army destroyed his family home leaving the communities, mainly Palestinians from Palestinians and is family homeless. Please do not think that by saying this I causing huge distress by separating families from each am condoning the suicide bomber, I am not. I think that the other. deaths caused by these misguided people are a tragedy. I work for Quaker Peace and Social Witness as an Ec- However, I also do not think that destroying a family home umenical Accompanier serving on the World Council of and imposing a city-wide curfew is justice as I know it. Churches’ Ecumenical Programme in Palestine and Israel There was an interesting meeting in Jerusalem last week (EAPPI). The views contained herein are personal and do organised by an Israeli-Palestinian dialogue group called not necessarily reflect those of my employer (Quaker Peace Face to Face. Some of the South Africans from our group and Social Witness) or the WCC. If you would like to pub- spoke movingly about their own experiences under lish the information contained here or disseminate it fur- apartheid and this was followed by a discussion about any ther, please first contact the EAPPI Communications similarities between the South African regime and what is Officer and Managing Editor ([email protected]) for per- happening in the occupied territories. It was also interest- mission. Thank you. You can findout more about the pro- ing for me to hear Israelis speaking out in favour of a boy- ject on www.eappi.org ■

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Reviews

Gulliver, played by Rumpole of the Ray Emmet Brown Bailey, eat your heart out…

Created by Steve Coombes, Outlaws is a 12-part series from the people who brought us This Life and The Cops and is also written by Tony Basgallop, Jimmy Gardner, Anita Pandolfo and Richard Zajdlic. Andy Eaton reviews two of the episodes and gives his verdict and we speak to Richard Zajdlic

ven the bad boys eventually firm for the pleasure of ASBOs, have to grow up. Phil youth offending teams and long EDaniels, once the pent-up, nights at the nick; in order ‘to parka-wearing, pill-popping do good’. In a regular round of Jimmy from Quadrophenia, has court room scraps, Dunbar’s graduated to something ap- nemesis is tough CPS prosecutor proaching respectability, as Sarah Beckenham, played by Manchester duty solicitor Bruce Georgia Mackenzie. Dunbar in BBC3’s new take on The review tapes I saw were the legal profession: Outlaws. episode three and seven of the But don’t be fooled by a few current series running now on wrinkles and a pin-stripe suit, BBC3, and due to appear on Daniels is still the consummate BBC2 from January. Little cheeky cockney and in Dunbar Devils, by Steve Coombes, dealt he may have found the perfect with four different juvenile of- vehicle for his particular seedy fenders. A boy who falsely con- charms. fesses to running down a police Outlaws is poised at the officer to avoid going back to a sharp end of the British Legal remand centre; two care home system. A world that is long on kids who have fallen into the good intentions and short on re- hands of a manipulative pimp; sources, where justice is barely and a young arsonist nicknamed seen to be done and ‘a Blunkett’ ‘domestos’ (a thick squirt, clean is a term of abuse. around the bend) who just Daniels’ Dunbar is worldly wants to be sent somewhere tions. Whilst Dunbar firstly has to preach. As in ‘Little Devils’ and sarcastic with a studied air where he will be allowed to his hands full defending a single when the wife of a dead police of indifference. He is aware of wear some pants. mother for the breach of an officer confronts Sarah Becken- the inequities of the system but In Three Monkeys (written ASBO imposed upon her ram- ham about her lack of justice. is too cynical or too lazy to care. by Richard Zajdlic) Gulliver be- paging brood of pre-teens. Then Also with a young idealist with His sidekick and junior partner lieves a sweet blind grandmother he has to defend an abusive hus- a desire to change the world is the naïve, well meaning and when she says that she was a band whose wife insists that she teamed up with a cynical, expensively educated Theodore victim of a cruel hoax after just keeps falling down the world-weary hack. It does feels Gulliver (played by Ray Emmet being arrested for handing out stairs. a little like we may have been Brown). Gulliver has decided to racist leaflets at a local shopping Outlaws is at its best when it here before. But Outlaws comes

forgo a lucrative life of contract centre, until the police show him is sharp, snappy and sarcastic at you with so much pace, style ▲ law with Manchester’s largest a list of her previous convic- and at its weakest when it looks and wit that you really don’t

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Reviews

CPS prosecutor Sarah Beckenham; played by Georgia Mackenzie ▲ mind a bit. The plot lines are Blair’s new Britain but a suppos- rapid and the banter is sharp edly long forgotten world of and snappy. To top it off the Thatcher’s first term. A world of programme is set to a cracking ‘sus’, ‘the front line’ and the Ska, Punk and New Wave sound Toxteth and Brixton riots. What track that seems to hark back to Outlaws highlights is that for a very different time. The choice those living and working at the of music highlights one of the sharp end of the law, nothing joys of Outlaws. For in many very much has changed. ways the world it conveys is not ● Andy Eaton Small screen puts system in the dock Socialist Lawyer: What was the for the total value of property counsellor whilst living in a luxury thing made, but it didn’t matter in thinking behind Outlaws? stolen was £4.7 billion. To deal hotel. And you’d still get £50,000 terms of this series as it was al- Richard Zajdlic: I didn’t come up with this we spent £13 billion. It change. ready ‘green-lit’, in other words with this series so I can only give would be cheaper to put convicted Steve pointed out that with the the BBC had decided to make it, my impression, but the idea was criminals on a government wage introduction of the Legal Services long before they cast any of the to look at an area of the legal of £20,000 a year each not to Commission, Criminal Defence roles. It certainly helps in terms of system not normally seen on TV, commit crime – and still save £8 Franchises and the Public De- publicity and marketing though. the Magistrates Court. The cre- billion in the process. fender Service we are about to wit- So no, I wasn’t thinking of Phil ator, Steve Coombes, wanted to To fund a £500-a-week heroin ness the ‘call centre-isation’ of Daniels because he hadn’t been examine how it dealt with the addiction, a user has to steal up to defence lawyers. In his view this is cast when I was writing the script. kind of low-level crimes and crim- £10,000 worth of electrical goods bad news for justice but great My reference for how he and the inals that are much more a factor every week. If the police gave up news for a TV series. The whole other characters sounded was the of our every day lives than the any attempt to investigate burgla- system is a Catch-22 and our sto- early drafts of Steve Coombes’ high profile rape and murder ries and set up as receivers of ries would take place against a first three scripts. But if there’s a cases we’re usually offered as dra- stolen goods, paying ten times as backdrop of controversial change next series it will then be very matic entertainment. much as current fences, heroin ad- leaving our characters to deal with useful for the writers to have heard It was intended to show how dicts would have to commit 18 forms of administrative madness and seen the actors in their roles, expensively pointless the whole per cent less burglaries to feed which, as he said, you just could- absolutely. It makes things a lot system was, how inept at provid- their habit. In other words, you n’t make up. easier. ing justice and how worthless it all could cut the police costs and still How did you go about re- Where did the ideas for the was in terms of solving any indi- get an overnight reduction in bur- searching for your episode? events that happen in your episode, vidual’s or any of society’s un- glaries by about a fifth. It would I spent a couple of weeks going Three Monkeys, come from? derlying problems. also put all other fences out of to various Magistrates courts The blind case came from a real Steve produced a fascinat- business. around London, such as Hammer- life incident I was told about by a ing document called ‘Every- In 1998, a private firm smith, sitting in the public gallery solicitor from Tuckers. The case thing You’ve Always was awarded a contract and watching the cases, taking involved a blind man who was ar- Wanted To Know to run a Secure notes and so on. I also interviewed rested for packaging and sending About The Criminal Training Centre for a number of solicitors from a legal out hard core pornography – obvi- Justice System But 40 kids aged be- firm called Tuckers, who are a ously his defence was that he Were Afraid To Ask’ tween 11 and 18. huge firm of 24-hour solicitors didn’t know what kind of material which details how Each place costs with offices in London, Birming- he was dealing with. much we spend on £250,000 a year ham and Manchester – all of them It was a funny situation but I dealing with crime in and the recidivism were extremely helpful. I also had decided to make it more relevant the UK and what an rate is over 80 per a police officer friend who helped for our main characters, particu- utter waste of money cent. For the same me with advice from that side of larly Gulliver, by changing the sex the whole process has money you could send things. of the defendant and making it proved to be. that kid to Eton under Does it help having someone about racism rather than porn. It was full of facts the full-time supervi- like Phil Daniels in the lead role, That way you get the funny story that made for enter- sion of four full-time someone who is already well but also a more emotional and taining yet sober foster parents on a known? And were you thinking of searching examination of the lead reading in itself. For 24-hour rota with him when you were writing the character’s sense of identity. example, in the year extra support from a lines for his character? The blind story made me think 1999 to 2000 the private tutor, psychi- A well-known star can be a big of the phrase ‘See No Evil, Hear recorded figure atrist and drugs deciding factor in getting some- No Evil, Speak No Evil’ after

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Phil Daniels as Bruce Dunbar has “found the perfect vehicle for his particular seedy charms” which I then invented the case about the wife beater whose wife wouldn’t testify (Speak No Evil) and used the on-going situation with a character called Connor who is now so drugged up he can barely function (Hear No Evil) to complete the trio of cases. The mother with the nightmare kids case encapsulates all three commands simultaneously. This is why the episode is called Three Monkeys – they are obviously a reference to the cases in point but, and more importantly, it’s a de- scription of the three lawyers – Dunbar, Gulliver and Sarah – all of whom are guilty of Seeing, Hearing and Speaking No Evil at some point in the episode. And indeed, throughout their careers. How do you think it compares with the usual dramas we have seen about the legal system? I wouldn’t like to comment on other dramas per se but where this counts is in its freshness of subject matter and approach. Most legal dramas are set in the high court or the Old Bailey, but this one is the Magistrates Court which is basi- cally untouched as an arena for a legal drama. It also has a political agenda – the system sucks and it’s not afraid to say so. ■

Helena has clearly cata- internationally, are indivisible logued the enormous erosion of and, as she puts it, have the Anything but just Human Rights over the last potential of “radically affecting decade and she does this the way in which we relate to against a backcloth, ironically each other as nations and as enough, that contains the incor- next-door neighbours”. Had Just Law: mate experience of New Labour. poration of the European this message been remembered The Changing As will be remembered, she is Convention on Human Rights. by the lawyers who espoused Face of one of the very few members of Put simply, that agenda has not power over the last two years, Justice – and either House of Parliament who filtered through in practice – a the rule of law might have been Why it have been prepared to take on matter clearly illustrated by the the victor rather than the Matters to Us the Government on issues of current case of the Belmarsh sword. All by Helena principle like jury trial. detainees in the House of Although all lawyers who Kennedy; Chatto Her message, once again, is a Lords. This instance is featured care should read this book, I & Windus; £20 clear one. Despite an overwhelm- on page four where Helena lists think that its appeal is to a ing presence of lawyers in the 18 examples of in-roads into much wider audience who may or those who know Helena, House of Commons, support for our liberty. She describes them be quite unaware of how serious and have heard her speak, the fundamental principles of jus- there as “shocking” and goes the threat is, and because Fthis book resonates with tice has been relegated to the back on to elaborate in the rest of Helena is able to draw on excel- her voice and her passion from burner or, rather, the the book, filling out each of the lent illustrations without getting beginning to end and this is its Backbenches. Many of us are examples with experiences that bogged down in the detail, it most important strength and aware of the rhetoric of abuse that she has had herself. The theme becomes a flowing and intrigu- endearing quality. It is all the tends to be levelled against those throughout is that Human ing epistle. more empowering given her inti- that espouse such principles. Rights, both domestically and ● Michael Mansfield QC

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