Richard's Kingdom

Over the last two parliaments the British state has grown ever more authoritarian. Personal liberty has been sacrificed on the altar of public opinion for political ends. The false dichotomy of privacy versus security has been used repeatedly to justify robbing us of the former while failing to deliver the latter. Billions of pounds have [...]

Dear Lords and Ladies of the House of Lords Science and Technology Committee I’m writing to ask you to represent the voice of UK citizens during the passage through the House of Lords of the Government’s Digital Economy Bill. I am deeply concerned by the measures this Bill would introduce, and given that my MP [...]

Today is the deadline for Cardiff Council to respond to my Freedom of Information Act request about their use of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act. Unfortunately my inbox is bare and the question of whether Cardiff is a Clouseau Council remains unanswered. I think that’s probably illegal, but I guess I should be prepared [...]

In the film “The Return of the Pink Panther”, the bungling Inspector Clouseau famously admonishes a blind man and his “meunkey” for begging without a license, while failing to notice the armed robbery in progress at the bank behind him. Meanwhile in the real world, following up the story of Poole Borough Council using the [...]

The Regulation of Investigatory Powers bill was sold as being a vital tool in the fight against child abuse, serious and organised crime, and yes, even terrorism. Now that it’s an Act of Parliament, we find it’s actually being used to enforce school catchment areas and target nuisance dog poo. Is wanting the best education [...]