Green arrest is a mayday warning for our democracy - Clegg

2.36.00pm GMT Fri 28th Nov 2008

Nick Clegg: The way we are governed is already more secretive, less democratic and more centralised than anywhere else in the developed world. Intimidating opposition MPs with police action will snuff out the few remaining powers of scrutiny they have.

Commenting on the arrest of Kent MP Damian Green, Liberal Democrat Leader Nick Clegg said:

"Damian Green's arrest is a mayday warning for our democracy. British democracy is in danger when opposition politicians get arrested by teams of counter-terrorism officers.

"Lord Carlile of Berriew, the Independent Reviewer of the Government's terrorism legislation, has confirmed to me that he has not yet received any official response to his inquiries about whether counter-terrorism powers were invoked in the arrest.

"Lord Carlile also confirmed to me that he could not currently envisage any circumstances in which these powers could have been justified in this case.

"This is something you might expect from a tin-pot dictatorship, not in a modern democracy. The way we are governed is already more secretive, less democratic and more centralised than anywhere else in the developed world. Intimidating opposition MPs with police action will snuff out the few remaining powers of scrutiny they have.

"Gordon Brown must now do two specific things. He must rule out any further use of anti-terrorism powers in cases that have nothing to do with terrorism and he must confirm when the Home Secretary was informed of the police raids.

"It is the height of hypocrisy for ministers to use sensitive information to secure favourable headlines and stand idly by while opposition politicians get arrested for seeking to shed light on the Government."