When an unimportant dissident like me attacks Tony Blair over his record on civil liberties and human rights then no-one really cares. When the condemnation comes from a respected organisation such as Amnesty International then people should pay attention.

Amnesty has just released its 2005 report. Here's how the section on the UK begins:

"The government continued to erode fundamental human rights, the rule of law and the independence of the judiciary, including by persisting with attempts to undermine the ban on torture at home and abroad, and by enacting and seeking to enact legislation inconsistent with domestic and international human rights law. Nonetheless, it lost its legal battle to reverse the ban on the admissibility in judicial proceedings of information obtained through torture as evidence. In July, 52 people were killed and hundreds wounded as a result of bomb attacks on the London transport system. Measures purporting to counter terrorism led to serious human rights violations, and concern was widespread about the impact of these measures on Muslims and other minority communities."

You can read the full damning report on the UK here:

http://web.amnesty.org/report2006/gbr-summary-eng

The one bright point in the report is the positive role played by the judiciary. No wonder the government wants to limit its powers.