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Emergency Powers and Civil Liberties Report [July 2020] – JULY 2020 ©BIGBROTHERWATCH – EMERGENCY POWERS AND CIVIL LIBERTIES REPORT [JULY 2020] – bigbrotherwatch.org.uk @BigBrotherWatch About Big Brother Watch Big Brother Watch is a civil liberties and privacy campaigning organisation, fighting for a free future. We’re determined to reclaim our privacy and defend freedoms at this time of enormous change. We’re a fiercely independent, non-partisan and non-profit group who work to roll back the surveillance state and protect rights in parliament, the media or the courts if we have to. We publish unique investigations and pursue powerful public campaigns. We work relentlessly to inform, amplify and empower the public voice so we can collectively reclaim our privacy, defend our civil liberties and protect freedoms for the future. Contact Silkie Carlo Director Email: [email protected] Madeleine Stone Legal and Policy Officer Email: [email protected] Author Madeleine Stone Editor Silkie Carlo Acknowledgements With thanks to Netpol and the Undercover Research Group for their ‘Policing the Corona State’ daily diary, which is an enormously helpful resource. Emergency Powers & Civil Liberties Report Published: 31st July 2020 1 CONTENTS INTRODUCTION ..........................................................................................................4 RECOMMENDATIONS ..................................................................................................6 EMERGENCY LAWS .................................................................................................... 9 HEALTH PROTECTION REGULATIONS........................................................................... 9 The role of Parliament ...............................................................................................10 Four-week reviews....................................................................................................14 Guidance v law..........................................................................................................16 Enforcement............................................................................................................. 17 Unlawful lockdown prosecutions.................................................................18 .............................................................................18 Postcode lottery......................................................................................... 19 Ethnicity and disproportionality...................................................................20 Stop and Search ........................................................................................ 21 National divergence..................................................................................................22 Wales ........................................................................................................23 Scotland....................................................................................................24 Northern Ireland.........................................................................................25 Funerals ........................................................................................25 CORONAVIRUS ACT....................................................................................................27 Schedule 21: detention powers .................................................................................27 Schedule 22: restrictions on gatherings.....................................................................28 Local elections .........................................................................................................29 Scotland...................................................................................................................30 NEW STATUTORY INSTRUMENTS ................................................................................31 Wearing of Face Coverings Regulations..................................................................... 31 England..................................................................................................... 31 Retail spaces .................................................................................31 Public transport..............................................................................34 Wales........................................................................................................35 Scotland....................................................................................................36 Northern Ireland ........................................................................................ 37 International Travel Regulations ................................................................................37 England .....................................................................................................37 Scotland....................................................................................................38 Northern Ireland.........................................................................................38 2 VIRTUAL PARLIAMENT................................................................................................39 BIG DATA AND HEALTH CARE.......................................................................................42 NHS COVID-19 Data Store...........................................................................................43 National COVID-19 Chest Image Database..................................................................45 CONTACT TRACING ....................................................................................................46 Test and Trace ..........................................................................................................46 Private venues ...........................................................................................47 Data misuse ...............................................................................................49 NHSX app..................................................................................................................51 BIOSURVEILLANCE.....................................................................................................55 Thermal scanners...................................................................................................... 57 LOCAL LOCKDOWNS...................................................................................................60 Unavailable data........................................................................................................63 Law v. guidance................................................................................................................65 Enforcement.............................................................................................................69 Leicester lockdown debate......................................................................................... 71 Ending local lockdowns.............................................................................................. 73 Wales........................................................................................................................ 74 Scotland.................................................................................................................... 74 Northern Ireland......................................................................................................... 75 FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION......................................................................................... 76 Counter Disinformation Unit....................................................................................... 76 Freedom of assembly................................................................................................. 76 Powers for local authorities......................................................................... 77 Northern Ireland ......................................................................................... 78 3 INTRODUCTION This is our fourth monthly report on the impact of emergency measures on civil liberties in the UK. Recovering from the initial shock of the pandemic, and with restrictions in many areas eased, we are now beginning to glean a sense of exactly what the tirelessly discussed “new normal” looks like. Local lockdowns have been autocratically imposed with the ferocity of shock and awe campaigns. In a now worryingly familiar Kafkaesque manner, restrictions have been imposed without preceding legal authority, a published evidence base, engagement with local officials or effective public communications. This includes sweeping restrictions that carry criminal sanctions. Few would criticise proportionate efforts to protect public health, but without vital transparency it is impossible for the public or parliamentarians to make the kind of assessments needed to have trust in these Government diktats – quite aside from the risk such Government diktats pose to our democracy. As we publish this report, the Health Secretary has imposed a new lockdown on vast parts of the north of England including Greater Manchester, east Lancashire and West Yorkshire. He did so via a tweet, less than 3 hours before the as-yet-unpublished legal restrictions were to be enforced - coinciding with Eid. Meanwhile, as pubs and workplaces open, a new environment of biosurveillance is unfolding. QR codes, thermal scans, automated physical distancing controls and demands for personal data now characterise our social
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