They are going to have to chisel off the blindfold from the famous statue of justice at the Old Bailey. The Law Lords have killed off the cherished notion that justice is blind to outside concerns and does not discriminate between persons or favour the wealthy and powerful. They have also reversed the lesson of the beheading of Charles I – that the Executive is not above the law. Be ye ever so mighty, you can now stand above the law with impunity.
I am deeply shocked by the Law Lords’ judgement in the case of the bunch of crooks at BAE. The government of this country can simply suspend the rule of law by invoking “National security”, and can do so in the interests of the some of the worst corporate sleazebags in the world and the equally unlovely Saudi Royal Family. The government’s assertion of “National security” is itself deemed unchallengeable in the courts.
We have indeed moved far from liberty in this land. We have also lost as a nation any right to criticise African or other governments for corruption, when we actively connive at bribery and at protecting crooks.
My very soul feels sick.
"My very soul feels sick"
Mine too.
And on the same day, the same 'highest in the land' court rejects the appeal of Gary McKinnon against extradition to the US under a grossly unequal treaty which our servile government has ratified but which the US has not. His crime? 'hacking' into US military computer systems in search of information about UFO's. Said systems had the most rudimentary-to-non-existent security against 'unauthorised' access and, truth-to-tell, Gary Mckinnon did the US military a big favour in drawing attention to their incompetence. However, we can't have geeky enthusiasts embarrassing Uncle Sam now can we? – examples must be made. Poor Gary has already had his life destroyed, having been unemployable for the six years he has been fighting this monster. On conviction he faces up to 70 years in a federal prison; it's called US justice and it stinks to high heaven – with our own craven government one of it's myriad enforcers.
Err…sorry to be pedantic, but there is no blindfold on the statue of justice at the Old Bailey. It's very difficult to see this from the street, and even quite difficult to spot in the picture you posted…