Stellar insight from our former MI5 chief: pt 1

The suggestion by Stella Rimington – the less seen but often heard former head of MI5 – in an obscure Spanish paper that the UK was eroding civil liberties is not her first such claim. Indeed back in October she talked of the “huge over-reaction” to 9/11.

Well, this week I have been informed by a number of lawyers that there has been an increase in the number of cases in which the press is excluded from trials.

A senior QC, himself involved in some of the trials, estimates from a survey he has conducted that currently the total number of trials held either completely or partially in secret has risen to around 30 in the last year. We in the media were not allowed to report key evidence or to inspect many court papers, and in some cases no transcript of proceedings exists because no reporter was permitted to be present.

Cases affected by this trend towards secrecy include the Baluch case to which I referred yesterday. For a country that prides itself on the development of English law, some argue that this is a dramatic and serious development.

What I’ve not included is the number of cases where “special advocates” have been involved, in which the defence has to leave the room and does not even hear the specifics of the charges against the defendant. And I am told there has been an exponential rise in such cases.