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Civil liberties - new material (22)

01 December 1997

Lobbying from below: INQUEST in defence of civil liberties Mick Ryan. University College London 1997 pp196 12.95pb. This book charts the development of the pressure group INQUEST which was formed in response to the increasing number deaths of in state custody from the 1970s onwards. Following the deaths of Blair Peach Jimmy Kelly and Richard Campbell in 1979-1980 the organisation was set-up in June 1981 as a group of loosely organised individuals with little financial support. Ryan examines the early years looking at the role of the Greater London Council and the balancing of a radical agenda with conservative sites' of operation. Other chapters examine specifics; "Deaths in police care custody and during arrest"; Prison suicides and "Deaths in psychiatric and special hospitals" for example. In his conclusion Ryan notes the changes that INQUEST has forced on the Prison Service and points to "its capacity through detailed casework to burrow away in the crevices of the state in search of abuses of power by those who exercise control in our name and through the public ritual of inquests, forcing the state to reaffirm its authority...to the legitimate exercise of its force."

Monitor. Scottish Council for Civil Liberties January 1997. This broadsheet includes pieces on CCTV and electronic tagging. It also has a "Legislative Update". Available from SCCL 146 Holland Street Glasgow G2 4NG Tel. 0141 332 5960.

Agenda. National Council for Civil Liberties No. 19 (November) 1996. This issue contain a feature article on ID cards and a round-up of relevant issues. Available from Liberty 21 Tabard Street London SE1A 4LA.

Parliamentary debates

Human Rights Bill Lords 5.2.97. cols. 1725-1758