Cherie Blair:
Nothing I say here could possibly be construed as making light of those horrible acts of violence, or of the responsibility imposed on the UK and other governments to keep the public safe, or of the difficult and dangerous task performed by the police and intelligence services. … at the same time it is all too easy for us to respond to such terror in a way which undermines commitment to our most deeply held values and convictions and which cheapens our right to call ourselves a civilised nation.
The QC, addressing an audience of 1,000 lawyers, civil servants and diplomats in Malaysia, said judges made rulings in a way that taught citizens and government about the "ethical responsibilities" of participating in a true democracy committed to "universal human rights standards". She said courts should be "guardians of the weakest, poorest and most marginalised members of society against the hurly-burly of majoritarian politics".
A good example of this working was the decision by the UK's highest court, the House of Lords law lords, that the UK's policy of holding foreign terrorist suspects indefinitely without charge broke human rights laws. "What the case makes clear is that the government, even in times when there is a threat to national security, must act strictly in accordance with the law," she said.
