I think, therefore you are.

Control Orders in the news again, following a proposal to extend them to those involved in "organized crime". I would hardly describe myself as a liberal, but I have grave concerns, not just about such orders, but about what they stand for, and the direction the law is taking in this regard. Under the Prevention of Terrorism Act, the Home Secretary can make such an order (which effectively, despite the Government's protestations, can amount to a form of house arrest) against anyone he suspects of being involved in terrorist activity. The crucial word here of course is "suspects". So the basic principle of English law that no-one should have their liberty taken away or curtailed except on proof that they have committed some offence has been swept aside. All that is necessary now is that the Home Secretary thinks you may have committed an offence - or even worse, that he thinks you may be thinking about it. If the evidence exists, it should be properly tested in court, and if it doesn't, then on what basis are these orders being made? If that makes me a "wishy-washy liberal" then I don't recognise myself as such, but so be it.