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Reposted by Graham Smith

Colin Yeo @colinyeo.bsky.social · 7h

Properly and appropriately searing criticism of Jenrick by @stephenkb.bsky.social in his newsletter this morning. Jenrick is obsessed with skin colour as a supposed signal of integration. There's a word for people like that.
ep.ft.com/permalink/em...

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Graham Smith @cyberleagle.bsky.social · 8h

And for the unsung history of private legal action against polluters. papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....

Saving Our Streams

Roger Bate explains the history of an unusual and remarkably effective 'environmental' organisation - the Anglers' Conservation Association (ACA). Founded in 1

papers.ssrn.com

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Graham Smith @cyberleagle.bsky.social · 8h

Re-reads the Pride of Derby case… www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

River Wye pollution prompts UK's largest environmental lawsuit

Livestock and water companies are accused of “extensive” pollution in the Wye, Lugg and Usk rivers.

www.bbc.co.uk

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Graham Smith @cyberleagle.bsky.social · 1d

Beware politicians with lists.

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Reposted by Graham Smith

Sam Freedman @samfr.bsky.social · 1d

Jenrick now proposing sacking judges he doesn't like. I can just about remember when Conservatives cared about things like the rule of law.

George Mann @sgfmann.bsky.social · 1d

The Daily Telegraph: MI5 kept in dark in China spy trial fiasco #TomorrowsPapersToday

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Graham Smith @cyberleagle.bsky.social · 1d

Things that Art 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights does not say.

Graham Smith @cyberleagle.bsky.social · 1d

17. Everyone has the right to freedom of a prescribed quantity of opinion and expression at a designated time and place.

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Graham Smith @cyberleagle.bsky.social · 1d

17. Everyone has the right to freedom of a prescribed quantity of opinion and expression at a designated time and place.

Reposted by Graham Smith

Graham Smith @cyberleagle.bsky.social · 2d

Quite amusing that the Investigatory Powers Act 2016 is listed in the Appendix to the Wolfson Report as a domestic statute covering human rights ground. It wouldn't exist at all but for a series of Strasbourg judgments and the ECHR.

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Graham Smith @cyberleagle.bsky.social · 2d

Quite amusing that the Investigatory Powers Act 2016 is listed in the Appendix to the Wolfson Report as a domestic statute covering human rights ground. It wouldn't exist at all but for a series of Strasbourg judgments and the ECHR.

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Graham Smith @cyberleagle.bsky.social · 2d

What Lord Wolfson actually said. www.conservatives.com/wolfson-fina...

Reposted by Graham Smith

David Anderson @bricksilk.bsky.social · 2d

Lord Wolfson’s report has now been published: www.conservatives.com/wolfson-fina...

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Graham Smith @cyberleagle.bsky.social · 2d

On prior due process, that ought to be an issue with this Bill currently going through Parliament. Depressingly, no-one seems the slightest bit interested. www.cyberleagle.com/2025/05/kniv...

Knives out for knives

As part of a broader campaign targeting knife crime the Home Office has published its consultation response on a new procedure for authoris...

www.cyberleagle.com

Graham Smith @cyberleagle.bsky.social · 2d

Most interesting, thank you. Your point re prior due process was well made - especially pertinent to official notices under statutory ‘trusted flagger’-type schemes. This commentary on Google v Russia focuses on the Pavli concurring opinion, in case of interest. www.cyberleagle.com/2025/09/goog...

<i><span >Google v Russia</span ></i>: a hint of things to come

The outcome of Google’s complaint to the European Court of Human Rights in Google v Russia cannot be considered a surprise. The facts were ...

www.cyberleagle.com

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Graham Smith @cyberleagle.bsky.social · 2d

“When you have a newspaper, you are responsible for what is published in it. When you have a social network, you must be responsible for what is published on it.” >>> Macron opposed to the DSA hosting shield?

Jeremy Cliffe @jeremycliffe.bsky.social · 2d

Macron: "We have been incredibly naive in entrusting our democratic space to social networks that are controlled either by large American entrepreneurs or large Chinese companies whose interests are not at all the survival or proper functioning of our democracies"

defenddemocracy.eu/macron-democ...

"Europeans, let's wake up!" — Defend Democracy

“We have been incredibly naive in entrusting our democratic space to social networks.” President Macron on the occasion of German Unity Day, 3 October 2025.

defenddemocracy.eu

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Graham Smith @cyberleagle.bsky.social · 2d

From my own blog :-) www.cyberleagle.com/2023/03/five...

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Graham Smith @cyberleagle.bsky.social · 3d

It's a phrase from ECtHR jurisprudence, describing the threshold test before you can move on to necessity and proportionality. So not really mine! Also said by some judges to be an English law constitutional principle. I'll add some references later.

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Graham Smith @cyberleagle.bsky.social · 3d

Quite. Can we trust Parliament not to pass a blasphemy law, or a law so vague as not to have the quality of law? These things are not quite so simple.

Ed Wilson @eddwilson.bsky.social · 3d

Badenoch: We believe in free speech, but that has to be within the bounds of the law.

So if the law is amended to prevent it, it's no longer acceptable free speech.

That's not exactly a principles-based argument.

#bbclaurak

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Graham Smith @cyberleagle.bsky.social · 3d

I guess that went the way of all mortal flesh with the never-ending split over the EU, a hurricane the effects of which are still being felt.

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Graham Smith @cyberleagle.bsky.social · 3d

The Conservative party used to pride itself on being a broad church, not a sect.

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Graham Smith @cyberleagle.bsky.social · 3d

"In a later interview with GB News, Badenoch said that MPs who did not agree with leaving the ECHR would not be able to stand as a Conservative candidate." >>> You might think the pool of potential candidates was small enough already. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

My approach will pay off eventually, says Kemi Badenoch

The Conservative leader defends her leadership as the party's conference begins in Manchester

www.bbc.co.uk

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Reposted by Graham Smith

Walter Olson @walterolson.bsky.social · 3d

Eugene Volokh has been serializing a new Emory Law Journal article in which he critically examines claims that online media may be regulated on the grounds that it provides an "addictive" experience for users. But the First Amendment allows for no such exception, and we should be glad it doesn't.

Addiction Archives

reason.com

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Graham Smith @cyberleagle.bsky.social · 3d

If you legislate for national security, sooner or later a government will claim that everything is national security. If you legislate for terrorism, sooner or later a government will claim that everything is terrorism. And one day a government will do both.

Brandon Friedman @brandonfriedman.bsky.social · 3d

Everyone is trying to have a normal Saturday night and the president's top advisor is on X announcing that civil war is necessary

@StephenM on X: Legal insurrection. The President is the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces, not an Oregon judge. Portland and Oregon law enforcement, at the direction of local leaders, have refused to aid ICE officers facing relentless terrorist assault and threats to life. (There are more local law enforcement officers in Oregon than there are guns and badges in the FBI nationwide). This is an organized terrorist attack on the federal government and its officers, and the deployment of troops is an absolute necessity to defend our personnel, our laws, our government, public order and the Republic itself.

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Graham Smith @cyberleagle.bsky.social · 3d

The latter, then. bsky.app/profile/jame...

James Ball @jamesrball.com · 3d

Just noticed the Conservatives’ British ICE proposal also involves using mass deployment of facial ID – still an unproven and unreliable technology that particularly struggles with non-white faces – to enable deportations.

Which would inevitably mean false positives leading to detention of citizens

Reposted by Graham Smith

James Ball @jamesrball.com · 3d

Just noticed the Conservatives’ British ICE proposal also involves using mass deployment of facial ID – still an unproven and unreliable technology that particularly struggles with non-white faces – to enable deportations.

Which would inevitably mean false positives leading to detention of citizens

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Graham Smith @cyberleagle.bsky.social · 3d

Ugh.

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