Death by secrecy

The problem with living in an embryo police state is that by the time the population realise what is going on it is too late.

The latest freedom this Government wants to bury is public inquests with its plans to be able to exclude press, relatives and indeed anyone it wants from inquests on national security grounds.

National security of course would cover the likes of Dr David Kelly, not that that particular Government whitewash could ever be described as an inquest, and the tube shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes along with our soldiers killed in action. No more embarrassing questions about lines of communications or sub standard equipment.

Not much National Security involved but a lot of questions for the Government, MoD and police.

We, as citizens, should have the right to know how and why one of our number dies if for no other reason than to see if anyone was responsible or whether future similar deaths could be avoided.

Give the Government, albeit in the guise of a tame judge, the right to hold inquests in camera on their say so that it is in the national interest, or more likely in their interest, and the very large can of worms is not opened but welded shut and buried in concrete.

It means that the state can cause the death of someone and then that same state can hold a secret inquest to absolve itself.