Sunday, 06 July 08 - 04:32 PM (GMT) By David Davis

 This morning I had a debate on SKY news with Tony McNulty. Its a shame Labour have decided to insult the residents of Haltemprice and Howden by refusing to stand a candidate and have the debate in the by-election. 

The article can be found here and the video of the debate can be found here

		Saturday, 05 July 08 - 11:16 PM (GMT) By David Davis

Yesterday returned from London, had a team meeting, canvassing and then straight to meet Bob Geldof at the Hull Guildhall.
 
We spoke to an audience of around 200 people.
 
Bob made an impassioned speech about freedom and liberty and how the loss of our liberty is a politically driven decision designed to make the government seem strong on terrorism and the opposition weak.  He described detention without charge as constitutionally repulsive.
 
He reminded the audience of the some of the key international facts.
 
The US has an absolute limit of 2 days detention; in Ireland, even at the height of the IRA terror campaign the limit was 7 days; Australia, only 60 miles from the most populous Muslim nation and the victim of its own bomb horrors has a maximum of 12 days.  Why?  We are no more threatened than those nations mentioned.
 
There is little doubt that the audience was starstruck, but interestingly as much by the insight and intelligence of the speech as the celebrity status of its deliverer.
 
I then travelled with Bob to London.  John Prescott and Pauline were on the train.  JP was his normal affable self with me: he hates Tories but I seem to be an exception for some reason… On to Chertsey to take part in Radio 4’s Any Questions.  Fellow panellists, Nigel Farage and Susan Kramer agreed with my stance and that is why their parties are not putting candidates up to fight in this by-election.  However, stubborn old Labour – Ben Bradshaw to be precise – used the usual slurs against me, all completely untrue – on rape, CCTV, DNA etc. The minister came across as churlish.  Pity, I always thought of him as a nice man.
 
Saturday.  After canvassing this morning in Cottingham, greeting the Young Britons Foundation coachload and many more Conservative Future volunteers as well as MPs Patrick McCloughlin and Brooks Newmark.
 
 I then travelled to Dewsbury to speak at a primarily Muslim gathering organised by my colleague, Baroness Sayeeda Warsi.
 
Sayeeda was addressing 200 plus friends and family who came together to celebrate her becoming the first female Muslim peer.
 
I was delighted to speak at this gathering of prominent Muslims and pay tribute to a lady that has brought enormous talent and energy to the Conservative front bench.
 
In essence my message was that we are all in the fight against terrorism together.
 
As we face the third anniversary of 7/7, this is a time for reflection and resolve.  We will not beat the terrorists with legislation designed to undermine our freedom and liberty.

Tomorrow McNulty on Sky.   At last a home Office Minister has come out of the woodwork.

		Friday, 04 July 08 - 11:06 AM (GMT) By David Davis

Constituency team meeting and then out canvassing.
 
Travelled to London to take part in the Observer’s debate with David Aaronovitch, MP Denis MacShane and journalist Henry Porter.
 
Quite an amusing debate, albeit with the same old Labour lines.   Nevertheless good of both MacShane and Aaronovitch to engage in the debate when Gordon Brown is trying his utmost to suppress the whole discussion.
 
Announced that Bob Geldof is supporting the campaign.  I am delighted to have Bob coming to Hull to debate the issue in Wilberforce’s city.  
 
Despite the government’s shameful refusal to engage, at last I may get my debate with a government minister.  SKY seems to have shamed Tony McNulty into debating the erosions of our freedoms and liberties on Boulton this coming Sunday morning.   This has come about after SKY publicly declared that they could not stage a public debate as all government ministers had been advised not to debate with me.
 
A new report out shows that mismatched or unclear fingerprints could cripple the effectiveness of the government’s expensive ID card scheme.
 
The Biometric Assurance Group says officials may struggle to cope with the number of false matches, which could turn into tens of thousands.
 
Any false matches – which could result in the wrong person being arrested or prevented from entering the country – will be dealt with manually.  It states that dealing with mistakes will be a large part of the National Identity Scheme’s work.
 
It also raises concerns about getting clear fingerprints from the four million over 75’s and other people with “challenging biometrics” such as “mute, non-English speaking, blind or visually impaired people”.
 
Why are we subjecting our vulnerable over 75’s to this humiliation?

The government has also admitted that in handling the security issues regarding the collection and safe storage of our data – our national identity – “the technical details of the access control solutions which will be used have yet to be resolved”.  Wonderful, they lose our child benefit details; they lose laptops and military information on trains: and they propose to create a huge centralised database as an easy target for hackers and fraudsters.  Hackers have penetrated the Pentagon and Microsoft: what chance has the Home Office got?  When will this government learn that they cannot carry on regardless, ignoring expert opinion on its miserable record for keeping our records safe?

		Thursday, 03 July 08 - 12:58 PM (GMT) By David Davis

Started the day with the usual constituency team meeting and went canvassing.
 
Came back to the house to greet Quentin Letts of the Daily Mail and Andrew Gimson from the Telegraph who had been in the area to sketch write the by-election and a pack of TV and radio reporters.
 
Somebody saw the BBC interview of me, as they thought “by a river”.  Actually, it was just my little pond.  Who says the picture never lies?
 
Left to greet David Cameron.  We arranged for David to meet a number of sixth formers from around the constituency at South Hunsley school in Melton.  We had a very well informed discussion with the youngsters who knew an awful lot about civil liberties, 42 days and why I was standing in the by-election.  The questions were so sharp that one or two of the sketch writers thought we had "primed" them.  Not true.  They were just very, very bright youngsters.
 
David spoke about our parliament and how it doesn’t often do the right thing and is constrained by the whips to vote along party lines.  He also made an impassioned speech against 42 days and how he will repeal this law when he gets into government.
 
David and I then left to go canvassing in Elloughton. I was very suspicious that my team had “primed” the canvass because we had 14 straight positives and 3 Labour conversions!  They insist it was just a normal canvass, albeit in a strong Tory area.
 
Had dinner with the journalist Rod Liddle in my local Chinese restaurant.  He was opining that because of the absence of an opponent that there was a risk of a very low turnout.  I told him that I thought that that was not the key issue; the real measure of this is that we have kept this in the newspapers already for nearly 3 weeks, and very few people can be unaware of it.
 
Later we were joined by a number of old friends from my TA days.  Interestingly, or contrary to what you might expect, the soldiers with service ranging from the 2nd world war right up to the present day seem to be vehemently on side on the issue of draconian and illiberal legislation nominally designed to defeat terror.  A good example of this is Tim Collins’s article in today’s Daily Telegraph.
 
Good coverage in today’s press from David’s visit last night and on Labour’s bribe of its backbenchers to vote for 42 days.  Labour’s chief whip, Geoff Hoon, wrote to Keith Vaz who eventually voted with the government to force through this disastrous legislation.  In a handwritten letter, sent to Vaz on the day after the vote on June 11, Hoon wrote: “Thank you for all your help during the period leading up to last Wednesday’s votes.  I wanted you to know how much I appreciated all of your help.  I trust that it will be appropriately awarded!”

This is disgraceful and shameful behaviour and against our liberty and freedoms and undermines the reasons why most of us went into politics.

Quote of the day, Quentin Letts’ sketch in the Daily Mail referring to the various candidates standing against me: “Westminster’s know-all’s declared, almost as one, that he (David) was ‘mad’ to take such a risk.  Mad? They won’t know the meaning of the word until they come up here.  No sooner had they declared him insane than the Great British public let rip a great cheer of encouragement for the man …. he may have set off the biggest race of mad March hares since Lewis Carroll, but he might just have done something surprising and daring enough to earn the public’s respect.”

		Wednesday, 02 July 08 - 09:22 AM (GMT) By David Davis

 Welcomed my former colleagues, Iain Duncan Smith, Chris Grayling and Jeremy Hunt yesterday.
 
After a reception of tea and cakes with local pensioners we did the media round-up and then went canvassing.
 
The letters and emails continue to pour in, media support is good and looking forward to welcoming David Cameron today.
 
Tomorrow I will be preparing to leave for London for the Observer debate with David Aaronovitch, MP Denis MacShane and journalist Henry Porter.
 
In the meantime we will have former colleagues Michael Gove, Patrick Mercer, Oliver Letwin and Peter Ainsworth coming up to canvass.
 
The Independent reports that a study ordered by Gordon Brown in 2003 when he was Chancellor, uncovered security flaws in the way that child benefit records were handled, well before they went missing in November 2007.  Recommendations to tighten security were not implemented and “woefully inadequate” data handling was implicated.  Well, Mr Brown, what say you about the security of our DNA database and for your planned ID card scheme?
 
Sadly, it is left to the European Court of human rights to hold our government to account on how they hold phone-tapping evidence.  The Court says that procedures covering the use and storage of intercepted material should be open to public scrutiny as it is “virtually unfettered” at the moment.  I am afraid that I think that this is a matter that the British Parliament  should sort out, not a European Court.  Hence this by-election.
 
Labour won’t put up a candidate to fight the by-election but continues to swipe frm behind the scenes:
 
Labour's Home Office minister Tony McNulty said: "As David Cameron today joins David Davis's campaign against our policies on terrorism, CCTV and DNA evidence, I challenge him to explain to the victims of crime why he wants to make it harder for the police to put criminals behind bars.
"Without our policies on DNA and CCTV the police would find it harder to catch rapists and murderers."
He keeps repeating the mantra that I am making it harder for the police to do their job.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  I repeat, now are you listening Mr McNulty?  I want CCTV cameras to be more effective, but subject to very tight controls against misuse.  You should know – you are the police Minister- that 80% of CCTV is not admissible in court.  So you con the public into a false sense of security whilst invading their privacy.   That is why one of your senior CCTV officers in the Met  described your policy as a “fiasco”.
 
As for DNA – why do you keep one million innocent people on the database at a cost of £1m per year; why do you keep 100,000 children’s DNA on it and yet do nothing to record DNA from the convicted criminals that preceded your laws?
 
Now can you guarantee us that the information is safe following the above mentioned report that damns Gordon Brown for not implementing the changes to security before our children’s details were lost?
 
Better still, come and debate these issues rather than hiding behind press releases.

		Monday, 30 June 08 - 08:35 PM (GMT) By David Davis

After a campaign meeting I did a walkabout in the area’s supermarkets and shops.  The support on the street is fantastic and the letters and emails offering support continues to be overwhelming.
 
Visits from the shadow cabinet, MPs and MEPs are on my events page and a big thank you to everyone who has helped or pledged support so far.
 
Received the first written reply from the Prime Minister this morning.   Looking forward to the next.
 
Guess what?  I have just  received a letter from HMRC telling me I was about to have a random tax audit.  The first in almost 40 years of earning a living…How’s that for a sense of timing?
 
And guess how long they have given me to send in my papers?  Yep, 42 days!

		Sunday, 29 June 08 - 10:00 PM (GMT) By David Davis

The campaign doesn’t stop because it is Sunday.  The ‘phones do not stop ringing and planning for next week’s campaign goes ahead at full steam.  Did a one hour interview for the leading web based comment page and a podcast for The Guardian.
 
I also did some previously organised constituency visits:  a promise is a promise, even if I am no longer the MP…
 
Today’s coverage in the press is very supportive.
 
The Sunday Express covers Labour’s 11-year record on the erosion of British civil liberties:
 
In 1997 people would not have believed that Labour would:
 
·        Erode the presumption of innocence;
·        Reduce your right to a trial by jury;
·        Severely compromise habeas corpus
·        Create enormous databases for everyone from children through to pensioners
 
That is the reality of Britain under Brown.
 
In today’s Observer Henry Porter agrees that Gordon Brown has banged on about Britishness in attempt to bolster the Union but without really understanding that our national character depends critically on our tradition of freedom.
 
Lovely paradox of Tony Benn supporting me in the Sunday Telegraph:  I wonder how often he has written for them?   He tells the great story of getting a letter from Churchill in support of his candidature in the famous Bristol by-election.   I wonder if in 25 years time I will be telling the equivalent story of his supporting letter to me in this one.   I should live so long.
 
There is also an excessively flattering article by John Rentoul, who gives me more credit than I suspect I deserve.
 
On which note, self-serving quote of the day:
 
“With Labour addicted to regulating how we live, the lone rebel deserves support if we want our freedoms to remain intact” Henry Porter, Observer

		Saturday, 28 June 08 - 10:28 PM (GMT) By David Davis

Met some supporters who have come up for the weekend this morning. A great crowd. One had travelled 300 miles to help with the campaign.

Went for a walk around some of the busier parts of the constituency. Gratifyingly friendly reception.

Also met another one of the candidates, who also asked me to join their party. This is getting monotonous, if mildly flattering...

Had an opportunity today to catch up on some of the vast backlog of mail and emails. Pretty much all supportive. Interestingly a number from past and present soldiers and police who agree with the campaign. Some are quite authoritative. For example see the interesting letter below. I have anonymised it to protect the identity of the sender.

--

Sir,

First of all may I congratulate you on taking the principled stand on the issue of extended detention to 42 days.

In respect of the use or abuse of RIPA powers by Local Authorites (see Telegraph 04/06/08 and 23/06/08) I strongly contend that these powers are being used illegally.

I state this as the Assistant Chief Constable of xxxx Police responsible for the vast majority of RIPA authorisations for covert and intrusive surveillance by that force until my retirement in xxxx after 30 years service. All such authorisations have to be compliant with the Human Rights Act; that is to say they must be Reasonable, Necessary and Proportionate to the alleged wrong doing being investigated.

The two articles mentioned above report on Local Authorities making RIPA authorisations in respect of dog owners failing to clear up after their dogs defecate, checking on whether parents are telling the truth about their place of residence when applying for school places and similar minor issues. I fail to see how taking covert and or intrusive surveillance can possibly meet the three main tests and as such are unlawful.

RIPA, of course, does not apply to overt surveillance such as Town Centre CCTV systems.; it purely applies to covert and/or intrusive methods. All of the circumstances highlighted in the above articles could be addressed by overt and orthodox means, thereby failing to satisfy the requirements of Reasonableness, Necessity and Proportionality.

...

Yours sincerely,

xxxxxx

--

Conclusion: Ordinary police powers should be used wherever possible rather than intrusive measures intended for counter-terrorism/serious crime purposes.

		Friday, 27 June 08 - 11:28 PM (GMT) By David Davis

My campaign was officially launched in Willerby today. I discovered rather late on that we were using the hotel that Ms Great Britain is staying at. Managed to avoid bumping into her, but got a slightly cheeky question from her manager. Actually quite like him, but have to avoid letting the campaign being made frivolous.

I spoke about Gordon Brown's broken promises and the lack of respect with which he treats our democracy and our freedoms.

I also released my manifesto, which you can read here http://www.daviddavisforfreedom.com/index.cfm?fa=contentNews.newsDetails&newsID=62190&from=list&directoryId=21194.

In a television interview after the press conference, I referred to Gordon Brown having lost his deposit in the Henley by-election, and lost his nerve in this one. God save me from my own soundbites...

But it is no joke. I have still yet to receive a response from any one of his Cabinet Ministers, all of whom I wrote to, inviting them to debate these issues with me. No surprise, of course.

Immediately afterwards, I drove down to Warwick to meet Colonel Tim Collins, who believes that 42 days is a counter-productive measure, and that we must avoid these 'tactics that help do the terrorists' job for them' - or as a former Chief Constable and Chief Inspector of Constabulary put it, create a 'public relations coup for Al-Qaeda’.

Tim has fought terrorism in more than one theatre, including both the IRA and Al-Qaeda. So he knows what he is talking about.

I first met Tim many years ago. He is of course famous for "that speech", a copy of which hangs in the White House. Beyond that however he is a remarkable combination of toughness, intellect, and honourable concern for his men. I think you may be hearing more of him in this campaign.

		Thursday, 26 June 08 - 05:03 PM (GMT) By David Davis

Another busy day with nominations closing.
 
Another day of interviews, ranging from the Register web magazine to Police Review.
 
I took a walk around Cottingham Market in the constituency this morning and met many supporters who were cheering me on.
 
Also bumped into the Green Party – 3 of them, anyway – and had a charming conversation with them.   I am afraid that they were reduced to asking me “why was I a Conservative.”   Note to self:  time to start giving more lectures to schools about the history of Conservative Party and liberty.
 
Also another day of desperate misrepresentation of my views.   You know your opponents are panicking when they have to tell lies about your story.

For example, it was wrong to suggest I have called for the removal of CCTV and the DNA database. At present 80% of CCTV footage is unusable in court, and less than 0.4% of recorded crimes involve DNA matches. I have called for a much more effective use of both CCTV and DNA, with strengthened safeguards to protect the personal privacy of the innocent.   Done properly it is easily possible to dramatically increase the number of crooks caught and reduce both the costs and the imposition on the innocent.
 
You can also read two articles on this by clicking here:
 
London Evening Standard
The Guardian
 
On his blog my friend Iain Dale is reporting that I have been tipped for Speaker of the House. Iain delights in dispelling this rumour because,  “I don’t have the legs for it and would not look good in tights!”.  Neither do I need a wig….yet.
 
I officially launch my campaign tomorrow but off to do BBC Look North’s ‘sofa chat’ now.

		By David Davis Published: Thursday, 26 June 08 - 03:43 PM (GMT)

I will be debating civil liberty issues with David Aaronovitch, Rt Hon Denis MacShane MP and Henry Porter during an Observer debate on the 3rd of July.

More details here.

		By David Davis Published: Thursday, 26 June 08 - 09:57 AM (GMT)

Media interest continues at a high level.  Funny how the Westminster Village have changed their opinions: my so called “moment of madness” is now a “principled and courageous stand” and many are now wishing me well.
 
The agenda is still out there: today I have been explaining that I am not against CCTV- but if it is going to be used the cameras should be able to provide clear images and all of the evidence should be usable in court. Currently only 20% is usable.  At the moment we just have a placebo effect for Citizen UK.
 
Equally important, we should have very strong laws to prevent misuse of the material for commercial or salacious ends, to protect our privacy.  
 
Similarly, why should a million innocent people and 100,000 children be kept on the DNA database?  This is the state exceeding its powers.  These innocent peoples records cost £1m per annum to maintain.  That million pounds would be better spent putting former criminals’ DNA onto the database.
 
I was asked to explain ‘Britishness’.  My view is very simple.  Being British is first and foremost about being a nation of free people.

Quote of the day:  “In defending 800 years of hard-won political rights, this rebel is also standing up for a crucial part of the national spirit …. perhaps Davis is a prophet as well as a politician.” Jan Morris, The Guardian, Wednesday, June 2th 2008

		By David Davis Published: Tuesday, 24 June 08 - 06:50 PM (GMT)

 I took part in Radio 4’s You and Yours today, who gave over a whole programme to the freedom issue.  
 
I was pleased with the support from the public who, on the whole, supported my stance.
 
There was a funny comment from the man that represents the CCTV industry who queried the statistics that I quote saying that four million CCTV cameras are in use throughout the UK.  The presenter then asked him to give his estimate of the numbers of cameras in use.  He then reeled off the lists of bodies operating CCTVs: shopping centres, petrol stations, individual shops, councils, etc and that figure?  Er, astonishingly that’s around four million!
 
Ken Jones, president of the Association of Chief Police Officers cites that 80% of the CCTVs in use around the UK are in private hands.   Far more important is that 80% are broadly useless in court – and they are not the same 80%…
 
Take DNA.  Another of the interviewees was a deputy from the Police Federation who was defending the taking of DNA from unconvicted people, citing that 100 serious crime cases had been solved.  My argument against this is that only one out of 250 crimes are solved through the DNA database and that one million innocent people are kept on this database, thousands of whom are children.  However, a large number of criminals are not on the database.   Keeping one million innocent people on the database costs £1 million pounds per annum.
 
Callers were worried about the use of their DNA.  Could it be guaranteed secure; would it eventually be sold to insurance companies and what gives the state the right to hold DNA information that is not available to that individual?  All good points.
 
Bob Dylan on the green
 
I then did an interview with Midlands Today on the surveillance society which will go out on air week commencing 7th July.  As we were recording the interview just outside the BBC Hull studios, a number of students were sitting on the grass singing freedom songs.  How apt and unplanned.  One I remember from my student days, The Times They are A-Changin’; as true now for these youngsters as they were for me and my generation 30 years ago.   They were very friendly.

		By David Davis Published: Monday, 23 June 08 - 11:18 AM (GMT) Last Updated: Monday, 23 June 08 - 12:31 PM (GMT)

On Saturday, 21st June, at Hymers School, veteran libertarian, Tony Benn MP and I debated the erosion of our freedoms.

Tony re-inforced my message of the erosion of liberties under this government.  With an astonishingly wise and insightful speech there is no doubt that he charmed the audience - which came from parties and none with his insights of over more than 60 years in politics.
Tony said: "This by-election will give the voters in that constituency an opportunity to register their view on this issue, through the ballot box, which is, and always will be, the ultimate guarantee of our fundamental freedoms in a free society".

Tony went on to draw a parallel with the 1961 by-election in Bristol South East, triggered by his disqualification from the Commons after he inherited a peerage.
Despite being disqualified, he fought the by-election and won, only to be refused a seat in the Commons until the law was changed to allow the renunciation of peerages two years later.

"Though the election court upheld my disqualification, the law was later changed to allow me to take my seat and I hope that if David Davis wins this by-election Parliament will repeal the law which led him to resign," he added.

I am heartened by the support of a number of high profile members of the Labour Party, despite a gagging order by Gordon Brown who has ordered cabinet members not to hold a public debate with me.

I am looking forward to debating again with him at the Fesival Hall on 7th July , 3 years on from the London bombings and the day before the 42 days legislation goes to the Lords.

		By David Davis Published: Saturday, 21 June 08 - 03:26 PM (GMT) Last Updated: Monday, 23 June 08 - 11:29 AM (GMT)

A recent YouGov poll has confirmed that the public support me in wanting Gordon Brown to put up a candidate. You can see the full results here:

http://www.daviddavisforfreedom.com/resources/15020/assets/documents/YouGov - Gordon Brown candidate.pdf

The public - by two to one - think that Gordon Brown should put up a candidate to fight this by-election. First he bottled the general election, then he bottled the referendum on the EU Constitution. Now he is bottling this by-election. The Prime Minister is running scared of this debate - and is terrified of the electorate.

		By David Davis Published: Friday, 20 June 08 - 04:27 PM (GMT)

On Question Time last night, I was asked why - if 42 days is an issue worth resigning over - we should not have less that the current 28 day maximum period of pre-charge detention. Let me try to give a slightly fuller explanation than the confines of QT allow.

First, the principle. For me, we should only be keeping someone in jail without telling them what they are charged with for as shorter period as is necessary, bearing in mind the need to protect the public. Detention without charge is a necessary evil - it must be strictly limited.

Second, the evidence. If 42 days cannot be justified, what is the evidence for 28 days? I have been through the evidence carefully with the Metropolitan Police and the Crown Prosecution Service. It is clear from the most challenging terrorism investigation Britain has ever faced - Operation Overt, after the Heathrow plot to blow ten transatlantic airliners out of the sky in August 2006 - that 21 days was needed. In that case, the police proved able to lay charges against all the suspects accused of conspiracy to murder - the gravest charge - within 21 days. So, a legitimate case can be made for 21 days, based on police experience in the toughest of cases. During Operation Overt, only 5 suspects were held for between 21 and 28 days. 3 were released, entirely innocent according to my conversations with the police. Two were charged at the end of 28 days, but in both cases the evidence was available earlier - within 4 and 12 days respectively.

If that is the evidence, the judgment call is a fine one. My view is that 21 days has proved necessary on the basis of experience. I can also see that the police need some limited margin for error, because terrorism investigations are unique. The current 28 day limit more than allows for that. As the Director of Public Prosecutions has said, it allows the police and CPS to cope 'comfortably'. But that evidence cannot support a case for a further extension. And it is worth bearing in mind that in all other serious criminal investigations, the maximum period of pre-charge detention is 4 days, not 4 weeks.

Third, we ought to resist the political pressure to keep on increasing the maximum period. Remember, the maximum detention period quadrupled between 2003 and 2005 - from 7 to 28 days. At that time, we were told 28 days was only for use in the most exceptional cases. But that did not stop the government coming back for more. It is tempting for the government plays the numbers game - asking for 42, 56, 70, 90 days - because it is a way of talking tough on terror. But that is something we must check, or we will continue to see our freedoms salami-sliced away.

Fourth and finally, we can equip the police with greater tools to get better investigative use out of the current 28 day limit, which would ease the time pressures they face. For years, I have been calling for the use of post-charge questioning and intercept evidence in terrorism cases. These are not silver bullet solutions, but they would significantly boost our law enforcement capability and take some pressure off the police. If the government believes its own hype, why have they denyied police and prosecutors such vital law enforcement tools for so long?

On that basis, I can support 28 days pre-charge detention - as a necessary evil - but not a day more. Once we have introduced intercept evidence and post-charge questioning, and developed the use of plea-bargaining, it may be possible to reduce the limit below 28 days, without any risk to our security. That will depend on the evidence available from our law enforcement agencies - but it is something we should strive for.

		By David Davis Published: Monday, 16 June 08 - 07:53 PM (GMT) Last Updated: Thursday, 19 June 08 - 02:11 PM (GMT)

Welcome to my campaign to preserve our fundamental freedoms.

On 12 June, I resigned from Parliament to take a stand against the sustained assault on British liberty. I resigned after the vote on 42 days, because it marked a watershed. Prolonged detention without charge undermines a fundamental liberty. But it also likely to prove counter-productive – with a range of security experts warning of the security risks presented by this draconian measure. I do not believe we can defend our security by sacrificing our liberty.

My campaign is not, however, just about 42 days. It is about the relentless erosion of our fundamental freedoms over the last eleven years.

The growing power and reach of the state has not made us safer. It has made us less secure.
The growth of the database state has not protected our privacy. As data fiasco after data fiasco demonstrates, reliance vulnerable databases has left our personal data more exposed than ever.
The surveillance society has not improved public protection. Violent crime has doubled under this government, whilst neighbourhood spies check rubbish bins and conduct surveillance on school runs.
And freedom of speech – the hallmark of any democracy – has been stifled by repressive laws. Peaceful protesters have been prosecuted for demonstrating outside Downing Street, whilst extremists have been left free to incite violence and vitriol against Britain for years.

My real fear is that there is worse to come. Having rigged the voted on 42 days – through bribery and bullying – this government will be tempted by the politics of terror to come back and ask for even longer periods of pre-charge detention. And they still plan to introduce ID cards, which will leave us vulnerable to criminal hackers and even terrorists. So I believe it is time to take a stand. But I appreciate there are different views on these important issues - I want to hear them all.

Over the last few days, I have received support from across the political divide on issues that transcend party politics. But most of all, I have been surprised and humbled by the public response, with thousands of people sending messages of support. Today I am launching this website to take this debate to the country. We must preserve our fundamental freedoms. They are the crown jewels of our democracy, part of the very fabric of this great nation. Please join the debate - and send me your views.

David Davis

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