Not so secret inquests after all  

The Public Bill Committee I am serving on is scrutinising the Government’s Coroners & Justice Bill. This includes the Government’s proposal for some “sensitive” inquests to be heard by a High Court Judge without a jury. I must admit, the proposition sounds alarming and a potential threat to our usual democratic openness. Indeed, I saw an article by Henry Porter saying just this. So it was with some relief that when I studied what was being proposed, and why, I realised that actually this proposal relates to something that would in reality be extremely rare – and extremely serious.  Mind you, I take the view that our freedoms are inviolate and non-divisible and  I perfectly well understand arguments about the thin end of the wedge, policy creep and incremental loss of liberties. I also formed the view, when I had studied the Government’s proposal...