David Davis comments on court of appeal ruling regarding terrorism case secret trial

Following today’s ruling by Lord Justice Gross, Mr Justice Simon and Mr Justice Burnett at the court of appeal regarding a terrorism case being heard in secret, Sir David Davis has said:

“This is a massive improvement on the original draconian proposal that the Government originally put up. It demonstrates only too clearly how over the top that demand by our agencies was in terms of the real security of the nation.

Nevertheless we should be wary of accepting as the new norm in camera trials with controlled journalistic access.

This demand for secrecy which has become habitual from the Government is at odds with the traditions of our nation when the threats were much higher than they are today.

One has to ask from what era the Home Secretary had in mind when she said “People talk about national security versus civil liberties, but you can only enjoy your liberty if you have security.” People have rarely been safer than they are today and we have preserved our institutions and our liberties in the face of much greater threats than any that she currently has to deal with.”