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Is Britain becoming a police state?
This week, Ellen and Imaan are joined by Conor Gearty, a barrister and professor of human rights law at LSE, who explains how his views on the future of protest have changed.
As hundreds have been arrested for supporting the recently proscribed group Palestine Action, Conor discusses his reaction to the ban. He criticises the Labour government’s stance on protest, which he says panders to a “middle covert authoritarianism”.
Conor also weighs in on what’s at stake if Britain leaves the ECHR, and how to fortify democracy. Are protests from the political left and right treated differently? And how should Labour respond to Reform’s rhetoric on human rights?
Plus, Ellen and Imaan discuss the genre of “cosy crime”: banger or dud?
To read Conor’s writing for Prospect (including the story of his shattered pelvis), click here.
His books include ‘Homeland Insecurity: The Rise and Rise of Global Anti-Terrorism Law’ (2024) and 'On Fantasy Island: Britain, Europe, and Human Rights’ (2016).
