Sarah's bulletin: 15 January 2010

This week the Parliament was busy with the approval hearings for the new commissioners-designate - the Parliament's main chance to exercise control over the Commission. I went to see Cathy Ashton grilled in the foreign affairs committee and then concentrated on the hearing with Stefan Fule, the proposed enlargement and neighbourhood policy commissioner as I continue my interest in Turkey, north Cyprus and the Balkans.

As the ALDE group 'lead on Bosnia-Hercegovina' (as a substitute member in the Foreign Affairs committee and shortly to take part in an ALDE MEPs visit to Bosnia) I asked Fule a question about the how the EU was going to respond effectively to the alarming situation in Bosnia and combat the perception that Brussels is either indifferent towards the country or paralysed by division. His answer seemed to indicate that he was really was committed to urgent attention, and on the whole he acquitted himself well.

These hearings are not just process, but can really matter. Back in 2004 I and other MEPs raised serious objections to Rocco Buttiglione as an unsuitable justice Commissioner, partly due to his views at odds with equality and partly because he had been part of an Italian government that had woefully failed in the justice area. And it worked - the threat of the European Parliament rejecting the entire Commission was so great that Barroso was forced to replace the Italian candidate with a better alternative. The Parliament should not flex its democratic muscles just to have fun in inter-institutional games, but in order really to achieve adequate personnel and policies.

European court rules Section 44 stop and search powers illegal

The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg this Tuesday ruled that UK stop & search powers were illegal in their extent and arbitrary nature. Two Londoners, Kevin Gillan and Pennie Quinton were stopped and searched on their way to a protest against an arms fair at the Excel centre in London's Docklands in 2003. This was done under Section 44 of the Terrorism Act, which does not require a police officer to prove reasonable grounds for suspicion before carrying out a search. This is the provision under which photographers have been harassed (and I am supporting a demo by them in Trafalgar Square next Saturday, Jan 23rd).

The two finally won their case against the UK government with the assistance of Liberty (on whose Council I serve) after British courts all the way up to the House of Lords had raised no objection! The Strasbourg court on the other hand ruled that there was a breach of Article 8 of the European convention of human rights, the right to privacy. This is very heartening news. And yet again it shows that it is a European court, and a European convention on human rights, that is shielding British citizens from the intrusive snooping of the Labour government into every aspect of their private lives. Of course we need to have effective tools to fight terrorism, but giving police officers blanket powers with no safeguards to prevent the abuse of these powers is no such tool. Thank goodness these European institutions are indeed taking action - although as I said in my press release, I would much rather we didn't need to and that we could prevent these kinds of breaches ourselves!

The Human Rights Act in fact gives UK courts the power to apply the Convention, that was the whole point of the Act. It is dismaying they do not do so, just as it was dismaying that the High Court failed to use the human rights safeguard clause (that Liberal Democrats managed to insert in domestic law) to block the extradition to Greece under a European Arrest Warrant of Andrew Symeou

The Tories have made noises to suggest that in their proposed "British Bill of Rights and Obligations", the UK would no longer obey the European Court of Human Rights' judgements. This is legal nonsense since they agree that the UK must remain a member of the Convention and you can't then pick and choose which Strasbourg Court judgments you comply with. All of this underlines yet again that 'the civil liberties issue' must be made a key issue in the general election campaign. I for one, as a Liberal Democrat, will continue to fight to protect them, and am submitting a motion to Liberal Democrat party conference to that effect!

I did a radio interview about this case which you can listen to here.

International gay rights pressure on Uganda succeeding!

As you may remember from my previous bulletins, just before Christmas MEPs called on the Ugandan government not to approve the proposed anti-homosexuality bill. The bill is appalling, engendering real persecution of gay men and women, with a fear-based incentive (up to 3 years in prison) for citizens to start a vindictive witch hunt against 'homosexual activity'.

This week the Independent raised this issue, together with that of the increasing stream of state-sponsored homophobia across Africa as a whole, where homosexuality is still in any case largely still criminalised as a legacy of colonial rule. Nick Clegg has also made some excellent pledges such as that of reviewing Uganda's membership of the Commonwealth if the law does come into force, bringing in same-sex marriage in the UK and banning British faith schools from promoting homophobic teachings. The international lobbying effort against Uganda's draft law is having some, if modest, effect: Ugandan president Yoweri Museveni has declared the bill 'a foreign policy issue' and asked for a rethink, though I fear legislation will still result. It is worth passing resolutions on human rights abuses, as sometimes they can make a difference.

PM Gordon Brown should appear before Chilcot inquiry

As Nick Clegg said in Prime Minister's Questions on Wednesday: Gordon Brown should appear before the Chilcot inquiry before the general election. Alistair Campbell's evidence on Tuesday bought up new questions about Gordon Brown's involvement in the decisions in the run-up to the Iraq war. Campbell's exact words were that Brown was "very much part of the consultations" on Iraq. Excuses about not wanting to politicise the issue don't wash - the public have a right to know what Brown's involvement was before they decide whether or not to vote for him. Of course I am not hopeful that this will actually happen, but it is an important point to make. I gave an interview to Italian press on Campbell's performance, and I said his bluster made me even more convinced of the lack of good faith of the disastrous invasion.

Copenhagen: the aftermath

The Copenhagen summit, although a small step forward, was a huge disappointment compared to what it could and should have been. Yes, the Copenhagen Accord does commit to limiting global temperatures to a 2ºC rise. But it was not even formally adopted by the conference - due to opposition from the most vulnerable states, the conference merely "took note of" the accord. We need a new way forward that does not require consensus between almost 200 states, but a 'process of the willing'. We in the European Union already know from years of experience that decisions that require unanimity are often decisions that are never taken.

To this effect I and my MEP colleagues are submitting a motion to Liberal Democrat Spring conference, which will be taking place between 12 and 14 March in Birmingham, on what to do about climate change after Copenhagen. We are reaffirming the Liberal Democrats' commitment to a 40% reduction in the UK's emissions by 2020 and calling for a parallel negotiation process of progressive countries in the light of the failure of the UN talks.

Inquest into Dr Ubani case begins

This week the coroner's inquest into the case of Dr Ubani, a German doctor who killed two British patients including David Gray while acting as an out-of-hours doctor in the UK has begun. The inquest heard how Dr Ubani gave Mr. Gray a lethal overdose of diamorphine, and how he maltreated a number of other patients. I have been in touch with Mr Gray's sons and together with the party's health spokesman Norman Lamb MP I have written a letter to Viviane Reding, the commissioner-designate for justice, fundamental rights and citizenship to express our grave concern as to how German authorities dodged a UK European Arrest Warrant for manslaughter and swiftly 'convicting' the doctor of mere negligence, not even striking him off the medical register there.

Am off to Strasbourg next Monday for the first plenary session of 2010 - will report back with news at the end of next week!

Best regards,

Sarah Ludford