Article originally published on Big Brother Watch, 23 March 2020 – accessible here
Parliamentarians and rights groups have today issued an urgent warning that the two year duration of the emergency Coronavirus Bill is too long, ahead of the Government’s attempt to push the Bill through the House of Commons this afternoon.
In a joint letter, led by civil liberties group Big Brother Watch and published in today’s Telegraph, the group warns that the Bill contains “the most draconian powers ever proposed in peace-time Britain” and urges for a more proportionate time limit.
Signatories include former Minister David Davis MP, Shadow Home Secretary Diane Abbott MP, Joanna Cherry QC MP and Acting Liberal Democrat Leader Sir Ed Davey MP, who are all backing an amendment to shorten the duration of the Bill to six months.
The Coronavirus Bill contains sweeping powers never seen before in the UK, including detention and isolation of anyone, including children, for forcible testing; powers to stop gatherings that could thwart protests; weakened safeguards against state surveillance; extended powers to detain and forcibly treat people under the Mental Health Act; slashed care duties to the elderly and disabled; and even enforced cremations overriding personal or religious wishes.
The signatories, including Amnesty International UK, Liberty, Netpol and the Adam Smith Institute, urge Parliament to give the Bill “utmost caution, closest scrutiny and the strictest time limitations”.
Read the full letter and signatories below:
Dear Sir,
We welcome the Government’s action to protect public health in this pandemic. Extraordinary circumstances require extraordinary measures, but we cannot let basic rights fall casualty to crisis.
The Coronavirus Bill contains the most draconian powers ever proposed in peace-time Britain. It contains sweeping powers to detain and test ‘potentially infectious’ members of the public, even children, in isolation facilities. It contains powers to shut down gatherings, which could thwart the possibility of protest against extreme measures. And it weakens safeguards on detention under the Mental Health Act at a time when people are under unprecedented psychological pressure. These powers require our utmost caution, closest scrutiny and the strictest time limitations. Two years without review is too long.
The nations of these islands face challenges best when we uphold our values, not abandon them. This crisis requires the public’s courage and co-operation.
We must be prepared to do what it takes to protect public health and save lives. But we must also protect the laws and liberties that are the foundation of our democracy, so that when this is over, we will be reunited with the freedoms that define us.
David Davis MP
Andrew Mitchell MP
Baroness Shami Chakrabarti
Diane Abbott MP
Joanna Cherry QC MP
Sir Ed Davey MP
Caroline Lucas MP
Stephen Farry MP
Bell Ribeiro-Addy MP
Rachel Hopkins MP
Kate Osborne MP
Paula Barker MP
Beth Winter MP
Sam Tarry MP
Navendu Mishra MP
Grahame Morris MP
Aspana Begum MP
Kim Johnson MP
Claudia Webbe MP
Christine Jardine MP
Daisy Cooper MP
Alistair Carmichael MP
Wendy Chamberlain MP
Tim Farron MP
Wera Hobhouse MP
Layla Moran MP
Sarah Olney MP
Jamie Stone MP
Munira Wilson MP
Lord Newby
Lord Marks of Henley-on-Thames
Lord Paul Strasburger
Lord Thomas of Gresford
Lord Clement-Jones
Baroness Ludford
Martyn Day MP
Alyn Smith MP
Chris Stephens MP
Baroness Jenny Jones
Silkie Carlo, Big Brother Watch
Kate Allen, Amnesty International UK
Matt Kilcoyne, Adam Smith Institute
Martha Spurrier, Liberty
Kevin Blowe, Netpol
Signatories are available for interview. Please contact Big Brother Watch to enquire on 07730439257 / info@bigbrotherwatch.org.uk