Taking Liberties (film)
Encyclopedia
Taking Liberties is a documentary film about the erosion of civil liberties
in the United Kingdom and increase of surveillance under the government of Tony Blair
. It was released in the UK on 8 June 2007.
The director, Chris Atkins, said on 1 May that he wanted to expose "the Orwellian
state" that now threatened Britain as a result of Mr Blair's policies. There is also an accompanying book.
, Kristalnacht, the invasion of Poland, allied victory and the subsequent European convention on Human rights designed to ensure it never happened again. Archive footage of Tony Blair defends New Labour laws which undo this convention and which the 7 July 2005 London bombings survivor Rachel North rallies against.
from the Labour Party Conference for protesting a speech by Jack Straw
. Toby Rhodes of Splash Clothing relates the story of a 20 year old student stopped by police for wearing one of his company’s “Bollocks to Blair” T-shirts.
and Milan Rai
of the Justice Not Vengeance discuss their arrest for an illegal memorial service outside Downing Street. Photos, title cards and archive footage tell the story of protestor Brian Haw. Peace Campaigners Sylvia & Helen talk about their arrest at the Menwith Hill US Military Base in Yorkshire. Baptist Minister Malcolm Carroll and the Rickford family discuss the Climate Camp protest at East Midlands Airport. Finally the collusion between police and EDO MBM to break anti-war protests by the Brighton & Hove Citizens Weapons’ Inspectors is revealed.
and compares it to the surveillance society before going to profile the history of ID Cards from Harry Willcock’s 1950 protest to their use in the Rwanda genocide and by the Stasi
, the East German secret police. Photos, title cards and archive footage tell the story of Blair and Bush’s rush to war on Iraq and the resultant 7/7 attacks which the film maintains ID cards could not have prevented.
on the home of Abdul Koyair and Mohammed Abdul Kahar. An animated sequence details Clause 39 of the Magna Carta
, which establishes Habeas Corpus
and lead to the banning of slavery, but following wartime suspension and the internment laws in Northern Ireland is, according to interviewees, has been undermined by the Blair government.
who is under indefinite house arrest without charge due to his involvement in the alleged Wood Green ricin plot
used as an example by Colin Powell
in his UN testimony despite no ricin ever being found. Former jury members testify to the lack of evidence in the trial which saw him acquitted only to be later re-arrested and threatened with deportation. David Bermingham of the Natwest 3 reveals the dangers of the extradition treaty with the US signed by David Blunkett
.
detainee Moazzam Begg
and the family of Libyan exile Omar Deghayes
reveal prisoner abuses including the force feeding of hunger strikers in the “torture chair”. The shackle-shuffle protest outside the Hiatt factory in Birmingham protests the manufacture of shackles for Guantanamo. A mock advert for RendAir introduces the illegal nature of extraordinary rendition flights to regimes which use torture with the alleged complicity of the British government denied by Jack Straw and Tony Blair. “The Road to Guantanamo” star Riz Ahmed discusses his own detainment.
An epilogue contends that neither Gordon Brown nor any of his generations of successors are likely to return the rights which Tony Blair have removed without a fight like that put up by the Fairford coach campaigner who won their case at the House of Lords
.
Civil liberties
Civil liberties are rights and freedoms that provide an individual specific rights such as the freedom from slavery and forced labour, freedom from torture and death, the right to liberty and security, right to a fair trial, the right to defend one's self, the right to own and bear arms, the right...
in the United Kingdom and increase of surveillance under the government of Tony Blair
Tony Blair
Anthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
. It was released in the UK on 8 June 2007.
The director, Chris Atkins, said on 1 May that he wanted to expose "the Orwellian
Orwellian
"Orwellian" describes the situation, idea, or societal condition that George Orwell identified as being destructive to the welfare of a free society...
state" that now threatened Britain as a result of Mr Blair's policies. There is also an accompanying book.
Synopsis
The film starts with three coaches of peace protestors on the way to the US Military Base in Fairford, Gloucestershire on 22 March 2003 held for two hours by 100 riot police and escorted back to London denied the right to protest. An animated sequence profiles the key events of WWII; Reichstag fireReichstag fire
The Reichstag fire was an arson attack on the Reichstag building in Berlin on 27 February 1933. The event is seen as pivotal in the establishment of Nazi Germany....
, Kristalnacht, the invasion of Poland, allied victory and the subsequent European convention on Human rights designed to ensure it never happened again. Archive footage of Tony Blair defends New Labour laws which undo this convention and which the 7 July 2005 London bombings survivor Rachel North rallies against.
Freedom of Speech
Tony Benn introduces the story of the expulsion of Walter WolfgangWalter Wolfgang
Walter Jakob Wolfgang is a German-born British socialist and peace activist.He is currently Vice President and Vice Chair of Labourof the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament and a supporter of the Stop the War Coalition...
from the Labour Party Conference for protesting a speech by Jack Straw
Jack Straw
Jack Straw , British politician.Jack Straw may also refer to:* Jack Straw , English* "Jack Straw" , 1971 song by the Grateful Dead* Jack Straw by W...
. Toby Rhodes of Splash Clothing relates the story of a 20 year old student stopped by police for wearing one of his company’s “Bollocks to Blair” T-shirts.
Right to Protest
Maya EvansMaya Evans
Maya Evans is a British peace campaigner who was arrested alongside fellow activist Milan Rai in October 2005 opposite the Cenotaph war memorial in London, for refusing to stop reading aloud the names of British soldiers who had been killed in Iraq following the 2003 Iraq war.Evans, a vegan chef...
and Milan Rai
Milan Rai
Milan Rai is a British peace campaigner best known for being arrested on 25 October 2005 next to a London war memorial, the Cenotaph, for refusing to cease reading aloud the names of civilians by then killed in Iraq in the course of Britain's most recent war, alongside fellow activist Maya...
of the Justice Not Vengeance discuss their arrest for an illegal memorial service outside Downing Street. Photos, title cards and archive footage tell the story of protestor Brian Haw. Peace Campaigners Sylvia & Helen talk about their arrest at the Menwith Hill US Military Base in Yorkshire. Baptist Minister Malcolm Carroll and the Rickford family discuss the Climate Camp protest at East Midlands Airport. Finally the collusion between police and EDO MBM to break anti-war protests by the Brighton & Hove Citizens Weapons’ Inspectors is revealed.
Right to Privacy
Director Chris Atkins visits Counter Terror World 2006 at Kensington Olympia, London to discuss surveillance technology with the delegates. An animated sequence introduces the PanopticonPanopticon
The Panopticon is a type of building designed by English philosopher and social theorist Jeremy Bentham in the late eighteenth century. The concept of the design is to allow an observer to observe all inmates of an institution without them being able to tell whether or not they are being watched...
and compares it to the surveillance society before going to profile the history of ID Cards from Harry Willcock’s 1950 protest to their use in the Rwanda genocide and by the Stasi
Stasi
The Ministry for State Security The Ministry for State Security The Ministry for State Security (German: Ministerium für Staatssicherheit (MfS), commonly known as the Stasi (abbreviation , literally State Security), was the official state security service of East Germany. The MfS was headquartered...
, the East German secret police. Photos, title cards and archive footage tell the story of Blair and Bush’s rush to war on Iraq and the resultant 7/7 attacks which the film maintains ID cards could not have prevented.
Innocent Until Proven Guilty
John Tulloch rallies against the proposed 90-days detention extension which the Sun used his image to promote. Archive footage of Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Ian Blair defends the 2 June 2006 Forest Gate raid2 June 2006 Forest Gate raid
The 2 June 2006 Forest Gate raid saw the arrest of two men at their east London homes in Forest Gate by police acting on what they described as "specific intelligence" that they might be terrorists in possession of a chemical bomb. One of the men was shot during the raid. No explosive devices were...
on the home of Abdul Koyair and Mohammed Abdul Kahar. An animated sequence details Clause 39 of the Magna Carta
Magna Carta
Magna Carta is an English charter, originally issued in the year 1215 and reissued later in the 13th century in modified versions, which included the most direct challenges to the monarch's authority to date. The charter first passed into law in 1225...
, which establishes Habeas Corpus
Habeas corpus
is a writ, or legal action, through which a prisoner can be released from unlawful detention. The remedy can be sought by the prisoner or by another person coming to his aid. Habeas corpus originated in the English legal system, but it is now available in many nations...
and lead to the banning of slavery, but following wartime suspension and the internment laws in Northern Ireland is, according to interviewees, has been undermined by the Blair government.
No Detention Without Charge
Retired Headmistresses Jennifer and Des visit the confines of Algerian asylum seeker Mouloud SihaliMouloud Sihali
Mouloud Sihali, born March 1976 in Algeria, departing in 1997 to avoid National Service, and arriving as an illegal immigrant in the UK. He was arrested on 19 Sep 2002, accused of being involved in the "Wood Green ricin plot" with the intent to poison as part of a terror attack in the UK...
who is under indefinite house arrest without charge due to his involvement in the alleged Wood Green ricin plot
Wood Green ricin plot
The Wood Green ricin plot was a 2002 alleged bioterrorism plot to attack the London Underground with ricin poison. The planned attack had connections with al-Qaeda...
used as an example by Colin Powell
Colin Powell
Colin Luther Powell is an American statesman and a retired four-star general in the United States Army. He was the 65th United States Secretary of State, serving under President George W. Bush from 2001 to 2005. He was the first African American to serve in that position. During his military...
in his UN testimony despite no ricin ever being found. Former jury members testify to the lack of evidence in the trial which saw him acquitted only to be later re-arrested and threatened with deportation. David Bermingham of the Natwest 3 reveals the dangers of the extradition treaty with the US signed by David Blunkett
David Blunkett
David Blunkett is a British Labour Party politician and the Member of Parliament for Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough, having represented Sheffield Brightside from 1987 to 2010...
.
Ban on Torture
Former GuantanamoGuantánamo
Guantánamo is a municipality and city in southeast Cuba and capital of Guantánamo Province.Guantánamo is served by the Caimanera port and the site of a famous U.S. Naval base. The area produces sugarcane and cotton wool...
detainee Moazzam Begg
Moazzam Begg
Moazzam Begg , is a British Pakistani Muslim who was held in extrajudicial detention in the Bagram Theater Internment Facility and the Guantanamo Bay detainment camp, in Cuba, by the U.S...
and the family of Libyan exile Omar Deghayes
Omar Deghayes
Omar Deghayes is a Libyan citizen with residency status in the United Kingdom, who was arrested in Pakistan in 2002. He currently lives in the United Kingdom....
reveal prisoner abuses including the force feeding of hunger strikers in the “torture chair”. The shackle-shuffle protest outside the Hiatt factory in Birmingham protests the manufacture of shackles for Guantanamo. A mock advert for RendAir introduces the illegal nature of extraordinary rendition flights to regimes which use torture with the alleged complicity of the British government denied by Jack Straw and Tony Blair. “The Road to Guantanamo” star Riz Ahmed discusses his own detainment.
An epilogue contends that neither Gordon Brown nor any of his generations of successors are likely to return the rights which Tony Blair have removed without a fight like that put up by the Fairford coach campaigner who won their case at the House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
.
Participants
- Rachel North – Writer & 7/7 Survivor
- Tony BennTony BennAnthony Neil Wedgwood "Tony" Benn, PC is a British Labour Party politician and a former MP and Cabinet Minister.His successful campaign to renounce his hereditary peerage was instrumental in the creation of the Peerage Act 1963...
– Former Labour MP & Cabinet Minister - Walter WolfgangWalter WolfgangWalter Jakob Wolfgang is a German-born British socialist and peace activist.He is currently Vice President and Vice Chair of Labourof the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament and a supporter of the Stop the War Coalition...
- Toby Rhodes – Splash Clothing
- Henry PorterHenry Porter (journalist)Henry Porter is an English author and journalist. He is a writer of thrillers and a regular columnist for The Observer newspaper. He is also the British editor of Vanity Fair....
– Novelist & Observer Columnist - Maya EvansMaya EvansMaya Evans is a British peace campaigner who was arrested alongside fellow activist Milan Rai in October 2005 opposite the Cenotaph war memorial in London, for refusing to stop reading aloud the names of British soldiers who had been killed in Iraq following the 2003 Iraq war.Evans, a vegan chef...
– Justice Not Vengeance Co-ordinator - Milan RaiMilan RaiMilan Rai is a British peace campaigner best known for being arrested on 25 October 2005 next to a London war memorial, the Cenotaph, for refusing to cease reading aloud the names of civilians by then killed in Iraq in the course of Britain's most recent war, alongside fellow activist Maya...
– Justice Not Vengeance Co-ordinator - Mark ThomasMark ThomasMark Clifford Thomas is a left-wing English comedian, presenter, political activist and reporter from south London. He first became known as a guest comic on the BBC Radio 1 comedy show The Mary Whitehouse Experience in the late 1980s. He is best known for political stunts on his show, The Mark...
– Comedian & Activist - Sylvia & Helen – Peace Campaigners
- Malcolm Carroll – Baptist Minister
- Ellen & Rose Rickford – Students
- Frances – Ellen & Rose’s Mum
- Brendan – Ellen & Rose’s Dad
- Richard – Peace Campaigner
- John & Linda Catt
- Stephanie Harrison – Barrister
- Chris – Peace Campaigner
- Timothy Lawson-CruttendenTimothy Lawson-CruttendenTimothy Lawson-Cruttenden is a British lawyer who specialises in court-martial law, and using the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 to contain and curtail any unlawful aspects of protest involving, amongst other matters, anti-corporate groups...
– Solicitor for EDO MBM - Lydia D’Agostino - Solicitor
- Chief Superintendent Barry Norman – Founder of Forward Intelligence TeamForward Intelligence TeamForward Intelligence Teams are two or more police officers who are deployed by UK police forces to gather intelligence on the ground and in some circumstances, to disrupt activists and deter anti-social behaviour. They use cameras, camcorders and audio recorders to conduct overt surveillance of...
(F.I.T.) - Shami ChakrabartiShami ChakrabartiShami Chakrabarti CBE , has been the director of Liberty, a British pressure group, since September 2003. Chakrabarti is the Chancellor of Oxford Brookes University.-Early life:...
– Director of Liberty (Human Rights Organisation) - Boris JohnsonBoris JohnsonAlexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson is a British journalist and Conservative Party politician, who has been the elected Mayor of London since 2008...
– Conservative MP - Kenneth ClarkeKenneth ClarkeKenneth Harry "Ken" Clarke, QC, MP is a British Conservative politician, currently Member of Parliament for Rushcliffe, Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice. He was first elected to Parliament in 1970; and appointed a minister in Edward Heath's government, in 1972, and is one of...
– Conservative MP - Phil Booth – NO2ID National Co-ordinator
- Ross Anderson – Cambridge University
- Clare ShortClare ShortClare Short is a British politician, and a member of the Labour Party. She was the Member of Parliament for Birmingham Ladywood from 1983 to 2010; for most of this period she was a Labour Party MP, but she resigned the party whip in 2006 and served the remainder of her term as an Independent. She...
– Former Labour Cabinet Minister - Michael MansfieldMichael MansfieldMichael Mansfield QC is an English barrister. A republican, vegetarian, socialist, and self-described "radical lawyer", he has participated in prominent and controversial court cases and inquests involving accused IRA bombers, the Bloody Sunday incident, and the deaths of Jean Charles de Menezes...
QC - John TullochJohn TullochJohn Tulloch was a Scottish theologian.He was born at Bridge of Earn, Perthshire, and educated at the University of St Andrews and University of Edinburgh. In 1845 he became minister of St Paul's, Dundee, and in 1849 of Kettins, in Strathmore, where he remained for six years. In 1854 he was...
- Jennifer & Des – Retired Headmistresses
- Mouloud SihaliMouloud SihaliMouloud Sihali, born March 1976 in Algeria, departing in 1997 to avoid National Service, and arriving as an illegal immigrant in the UK. He was arrested on 19 Sep 2002, accused of being involved in the "Wood Green ricin plot" with the intent to poison as part of a terror attack in the UK...
- David Bermingham – Natwest 3
- Clive Stafford SmithClive Stafford SmithClive Adrian Stafford Smith OBE is a British [see talk] lawyer who specialises in the areas of civil rights and the death penalty in the United States of America....
– Lawyer for Guantanamo Detainees - Moazzam BeggMoazzam BeggMoazzam Begg , is a British Pakistani Muslim who was held in extrajudicial detention in the Bagram Theater Internment Facility and the Guantanamo Bay detainment camp, in Cuba, by the U.S...
– Former Guantanamo Detainee - Kate Allen – Director, Amnesty Internartional
- Philippe SandsPhilippe SandsPhilippe Sands, QC is a British lawyer at Matrix Chambers, and is Professor of International law at University College London. Sands is notable for writing a book, Lawless World, in which he accused US President George W. Bush and Prime Minister Tony Blair of conspiring to invade Iraq in violation...
QC – Author of “Lawless World” - Dr. David NichollDavid Nicholl (neurologist)Dr David Nicholl is a neurologist, human rights activist, fundraiser for Amnesty International, and online columnist from Belfast, Northern Ireland. In March 2006 he initiated a letter in the medical journal The Lancet, signed by more than 250 medical experts urging the United States to stop...
– Human Rights Campaigner - Amani Deghayes – OmarOmar DeghayesOmar Deghayes is a Libyan citizen with residency status in the United Kingdom, who was arrested in Pakistan in 2002. He currently lives in the United Kingdom....
’s Sister - Zohra Zewawi – Omar’s Mother
- Baroness Sarah Ludford – Liberal Democrat MEP
- Stephen GreyStephen GreyStephen Grey is an award-winning British investigative journalist and author best known for revealing details of the CIA's program of 'extraordinary rendition.' He has also reported extensively from the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.-Early career:Grey was educated at the British School of...
– Author of “Ghost Plane” - Michael ScheuerMichael ScheuerMichael F. Scheuer is a former CIA intelligence officer, American blogger, historian, foreign policy critic, and political analyst. He is currently an adjunct professor at Georgetown University's Center for Peace and Security Studies...
– Former Chief of CIA Bin Laden Unit - Riz AhmedRiz AhmedRizwan Ahmed , also known as Riz Ahmed, the Rizmeister General, or Riz MC, is a British MC, musician and actor. He is noted for his lead performances in The Road to Guantanamo, Shifty, Britz, and Four Lions.-Ethnic background:Ahmed is a British Pakistani...
- Jane Laporte – Fairford Coach Campaigner
Reception
The film received generally positive reviews, gaining 4/5 from The Guardian, The Times, and the BBC. Director Chris Atkins was also nominated for the Carl Foreman award for most promising newcomer.External links
- Official website
- Chris Atkins interviewed at The Third Estate
- Review: Taking Liberties at Counter Culture
- Film to criticise Blair as he steps down The Scotsman, 1 May 2007
- New film 'exposes Orwellian Labour' The Telegraph, 2 May 2007
- Film to criticise Britain's Blair as he steps down Reuters, Wednesday, 2 May 2007 http://www.tvguide.com/news-views/Entertainment-News/Article/Default.aspx?idx=920822
- 'Taking Liberties’ Comments On Erosion Of Civil Freedoms 4rfv Ireland, 10 May 2007
- Audio interview with 'Taking Liberties’ director Chris Atkins RINF Alternative News, 19 June 2007
- The Guardian article
- Eye for Film: Taking Liberties interview with director Chris Atkins
- Londonist: Interview: Chris Atkins, Director, Taking Liberties
- Taking Liberties review - Times Online
- Taking Liberties Review - Time Out New York