Observer: Is this the death of freedom?

[muriel_volestrangler]

Five years ago, this country crafted the Human Rights Act. Now it is being ripped apart

Today it the fifth birthday of the Human Rights Act, but there is little to celebrate. As one of those who once worked with Labour to craft a rights charter that went with the grain of our parliamentary democracy, I now see it being undermined, in word and deed, by the government that introduced it. Tory leaders, present and pending, line up to pen its obituary.

Early allegations against the act - that it would swamp the courts and spring open the prison doors - failed to materialise. But now the charge is more serious. The act has, in some quarters, effectively been held liable for the London bombings.

Yet, in the face of terrorist atrocities, Britain is the only country proposing to amend its human rights legislation. Whatever other divisions, America remains united in defending its Bill of Rights. No other government in Europe has proposed amending or derogating from the European Convention on Human Rights.

So why are civil liberties apparently less valued here? The discernible difference is that other democracies view their rights charters as statements of identity and heritage. Here, the government sees ours as an obstacle, quarrelling with judges for holding on to their discretion over when it is safe to deport people to countries practising torture.

http://observer.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,6903,1582988,00.html

I'd disagree that America is united in defending its Bill of Rights - the Patriot Act is a direct attack on it. But, apart from that, it's a good article.