David Anderson
@bricksilk.bsky.social
Lord Anderson of Ipswich KBE KC: barrister, cross-bench peer; HL Justice & Home Aff Cttee; Chair Inter Mediate, @uclei.bsky.social; Vis Prof KCL; ex-Indept Reviewer Terrorism, Prevent Commr, AFPS; history, nature, sea kayaking, Suffolk
❗“The ECHR is not a constraint on British security. It is one of its foundations,” write 3 former Independent Reviewers of Terrorism Legislation👇 🔗 www.lawgazette.co.uk/commentary-a... via @lawsocietygazette.bsky.social “Walking away would not make Britain freer. It would make Britain weaker.”
The ECHR is not a constraint on British security. It is one of its foundations
Britain should not be abandoning one of its greatest post-war achievements.
lawgazette.co.uk
New post out: We have a fascinating guest post looking at how Putin has ratcheted up his campaign against Europe - through hybrid warfare, global alliances and support for malicious actors. Also looks at whether/how the escalation will continue. samf.substack.com/p/putins-cam...
Putin’s campaign against Europe
How far will he go?
samf.substack.com
England is a made up thing. It has no basis in the ineluctable laws of nature. Its extent is defined by Edward II getting his arse handed to him. Athelstan conquering York. The Welsh of Cumbria were incorporated, the Welsh of Gwynedd were not. It is a political idea, an aspiration - not taxonomy.
Aaron Reichlin-Melnick@reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 3w agoJacob Rees-Mogg, the most stereotypically Tory conservative man of the 21st Century, responded to Suella Braverman with a long-form video criticizing her position and rejecting a race-based theory of Englishness, and in response has been ratioed by the increasingly feral British online far-right.
Thomas Edison in 1910. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves on this net zero business, lads
This is terrifying, and the author (as I learned during my year on the Armed Forces Parliamentary Scheme) a genuine expert. Time to sort out our priorities. www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/09...
telegraph.co.uk
The UK is safer & stronger with the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). New paper sets out how ECHR membership supports national security, international cooperation & UK influence abroad. Ft. foreword by Lord Carlile, @bricksilk.bsky.social & Sir Max Hill. justice.org.uk/news/former-...
contrary to the most conventional of all conventional wisdoms, the "help to buy did nothing but shove up house prices duh" wisdom, it actually worked www.gov.uk/government/p... report from people putting a lot more work into the question, worth a breezy look at
Evaluation of the Help to Buy scheme: evaluation findings report
gov.uk
Legislating for the past: what is retrospective legislation and when is it ok? With particular reference to political donations By me for @instituteforgovernment.org.uk www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/comment/retr...
Legislating for the past: What is retrospective legislation and when is it ok? | Institute for Government
What is meant by “retrospective” legislation, and can it ever be acceptable?
instituteforgovernment.org.uk
This still gets me every time. Albert Camus' letter to a teacher after he'd been awarded the Nobel Prize.
Bill Bryson’s words seem appropriate to post right now
Interesting evidence session today in HL Justice and Home Affairs Cttee: a Crown Court Judge and two barristers answered questions about the steps that are taken (and not taken) to mitigate the effect of distressing trials on jurors www.parliamentlive.tv/Event/Index/....
Parliamentlive.tv - 404 page not found
parliamentlive.tv
Phase 2 of the Southport Inquiry is under way www.bbc.co.uk/news/article.... I'll be giving evidence tomorrow, with others: supporting material and transcript will appear here www.southport.public-inquiry.uk/evidence/.
Young age of those with extreme violence fascination 'striking'
"Increasingly younger" people are being referred to a counter-terror scheme, the Southport Inquiry is told.
bbc.co.uk
Lord Briggs is next President of the UKSC: lnkd.in/p/e5ytH7aj
His Majesty The King has approved the appointment of Lord Briggs of Westbourne as the next President of the Supreme Court. The King made the appointment on the advice of the Prime Minister and Lord… |...
His Majesty The King has approved the appointment of Lord Briggs of Westbourne as the next President of the Supreme Court. The King made the appointment on the advice of the Prime Minister and Lord Ch...
lnkd.in
Imagine telling a man wanted by the ICC over alleged war crimes that meeting him will be one of the greatest memories of your life. ㅤ Witkoff told Putin he would be “right at the top” of his retirement stories. ㅤ Ukraine was invaded. Putin gets admiration. Kyiv gets pressure.
Spoke in debate last night on the Hillsborough Bill - the statutory replacement for misfeasance in public office needs tweaking, and what happened to the ethics and integrity commission? hansard.parliament.uk/Lords/2026-0...
Public Office (Accountability) Bill - Hansard - UK Parliament
Hansard record of the item : 'Public Office (Accountability) Bill' on Tuesday 1 September 2026.
hansard.parliament.uk
The shift from “no one is watching” to “someone might be watching” — thanks to surveillance cameras, phone tapping, and similar technologies — took the entirety of the 20th century. The final shift to “something is always watching” could be completed inside a decade, and still catch us unaware.
We’re sleepwalking into an AI surveillance dystopia
The technology needed for industrial-scale observation exists — and is already in widespread use
transformernews.ai
Policy Exchange presents: The Home Secretary Interviews. Exclusive new in-depth interviews with 14 Home Secretaries 1990 - 2024. Read them in their own words on policing, immigration, protest and more from May, Blunkett, Straw, Howard, Braverman, Clarke... Full report ⬇️
One of the best job applications ever written came from the hands of Robert Pirosh in 1934. MGM loved it, took him on and in 1949 he won an Oscar for ‘Battleground’.
29th August 1985 - An excited Michael Fish gets to deploy the rarely seen red number as the temperature gets up to an incredible 26 degrees in London!
Interviewed today on BBC R4 WATO at the end of a long segment (from 7 to 21 minutes in) on Prevent and violence-fixated individuals: www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/... I’ll be giving public evidence in September to Sir Adrian Fulford’s inquiry, which will look in detail at this issue.
Radio 4 - Listen Live - BBC Sounds
Listen live to Radio 4 on BBC Sounds
bbc.co.uk
The indomitable Judge Prost, sanctioned by the US administration, will be well worth hearing.
JUSTICE@justicehq.bsky.social · 2mo agoWe’re delighted to welcome Judge Kimberly Prost as a keynote speaker at this year’s JUSTICE Annual Conference. A Judge of the International Criminal Court since 2018, she will bring invaluable expertise to discussions. Join us in London on 30 October! justice.org.uk/events/annua...
New post out: "The myth of the 'Boriswave'" The online right claim that the immigrants who arrived between 21-24 will bankrupt the country. This isn't remotely true but they've created a mainstream panic that could lead us down a dangerous path. (£/free trial) samf.substack.com/p/the-myth-o...
The myth of the "Boriswave"
Over summer 2024 anonymous right-wing accounts on twitter, who support Reform or more extreme ethnonationalist parties, started using the term “Boriswave” to describe the brief but sharp rise in net m...
samf.substack.com
The PM favours a written constitution. Here are some ways it might be done. www.daqc.co.uk/2023/12/01/w...
Writing a Constitution - David Anderson QC Lawyer London UK
I gave a lecture last night to the Statute Law Society on the subject of Writing a Constitution. Our constitution is sick (though its condition is chronic rather than acute); a written constitution is...
daqc.co.uk