Julian Assange’s submission to the UN working group

We awoke to the extraordinary news that Julian Assange had announced he’d leave the Ecuadorian embassy in London tomorrow and submit to arrest if the UN working group on arbitrary detention turned down his complaint to them. Shortly afterwards, the BBC reported that the working group has come down in his favour. That would be […]

Pannick on the Reyaad Khan drone strike

In the Times today Lord Pannick QC discusses the recently announced RAF drone strike that killed Reyaad Khan and another British “Islamic State” fighter. He agrees with me that article 51 of the UN Charter permits defence against an imminent attack from a non-state organisation. A state, he writes does not have to wait for […]

If you think it was murder, say so

How many articles and blogposts have referred to Orwell’s classic essay Politics and the English Language? Well, here’s another. I’m put in mind of it by recent use of the sinister phrase “extrajudicial killing” to describe the lethal RAF strike on British “Islamic State” fighters. Bad writers, according to Orwell and especially scientific, political, and […]

The killing of Reyaad Khan: Britain’s letter to the UN

A row has broken out since the publication of the letter from the UK to the UN, in which the British permanent representative reports the drone strike that killed Reyaad Khan to the UN Security Council as required by article 51 of the UN Charter. The letter says— the United Kingdom … has undertaken military […]

Law and the killing of Reyaad Khan

This afternoon in the House of Commons the Prime Minister told MPs that Reyaad Khan, the “Islamic State” fighter from Cardiff, was killed in Syria in a targeted RAF drone strike. His death was reported some days ago but it was not clear till now that it the RAF had targeted him. The case raises […]

The PM’s “foreign fighters” plan: probably lawful

Overnight in Australia, the Prime Minister announced new counter-terrorism powers which he intends to introduce in a bill in the next few weeks. He said there’d be New powers for police at ports to seize passports, to stop suspects travelling and to stop British nationals returning to the UK unless they do so on our […]

Grieve: Counter-terrorism measures “probably getting to the right place”

The former Attorney General Dominic Grieve appeared on Radio 4’s World at One Today to discuss the government’s new plan to “regulate” the return to the UK of those who, for instance, have gone to Syria to fight for the “Islamic State”. Grieve said his impression was that the new proposals – announced by the […]

Press regulation: the international aspect

An exchange in last night’s Lords debate on the new press regulation clauses in the Crime and Courts Bill revealed a little-noticed – and no doubt to some, astonishing – aspect of the proposed system: it covers foreign publishers. Lord Lucas raised the issue (column 854): I am sure that this is my misreading, but […]

Julian Assange: “democracy is the sum of our resistance”

I went along tonight to hear Julian Assange’s speech wondering just slightly if he might not astonish the world, and announce his exit into the arms of the police. Anything, as we’ve learned, can happen with Assange, and time, and the wearing patience of the Ecuadorian government must I think force his hand one day. […]

Is the government really “on the brink” of success in Strasbourg?

So the Telegraph reported the week before last, based on an interview with Ken Clarke: the Justice Secretary reveals that Britain is poised strike a deal to overhaul the controversial human rights court to stop it being used by “every individual who has lost his own particular case”. Cabinet ministers were ordered earlier this week […]