Article Generating More Heat than Light? Debates on Civil Liberties in the UK

Abstract This article deals with the debate over civil liberties in the United Kingdom, particularly the argument that civil liberties have been unreasonably restricted in the UK as part of the state’s counter-terrorist policy. Arguments that the UK is facing an unprecedented threat to its civil liberties are examined, as are counter-arguments, including the idea that defenders of civil liberties display an excessive pessimism. The article argues that civil liberties have been constrained, but a focus on counter-terrorism shows the situation is not as bad as critics think. The main threat to civil liberties may come from outside the field of counter-terrorist operations and lies in some developments in normal criminal investigation and public order but more importantly, the processes and practices of the public and private sector (particularly surveillance) as part of what is termed the ‘risk society.’ What are civil liberties? As Gearty argues, the term civil liberties has continued to expand; like human rights it has spread into areas which were previously thought not to be relevant. Briefly, the core idea of civil liberty is connected with the idea of civil society: an area of social and political life not controlled by the state at central or local level. Centrally, this involves rights of associa-tion, assembly and expression, individuals and groups having the freedom to come together, organize, debate and protest.1 Civil libertie