An Open Letter To Stephen Mosley MP, sent for publication in the Chester Chronicle.



The British Government is proposing scrapping the Human Rights Act (under

European Law) and replacing it with a new (UK only) Bill of Rights.



Why the Human Rights Act matters.

At some point we may all need protection. Sadly human rights abuses do occur

HERE at home. We all know we don't live in a perfect world and the Human

Rights Act isn't the answer to every problem, but the Human Rights Act does

protect each and every one of us when the line is crossed by powerful

officials.



It is about who we are.

There is a lot of Human Rights Act bashing going on at the moment, often for

no good reason. Such attacks are not only an assault on the law, they are

also an attack on this country's tradition of fair play and our belief in

basic human dignity and justice for everyone.



We in the Chester group of Amnesty International feel that the changes

proposed by the government, whilst perhaps being valid for reasons that

might seem reasonable currently, would not protect the human rights for

people in this country in the future. And neither would the proposals give

protection to our citizens when our own government is both prosecutor and

defendant.





Alex Kilpatrick

For Chester Group Amnesty International