Civil liberties lawyer warns of ‘dark age of injustice’

BRITAIN has entered a “dark age” of injustice, a leading civil liberties lawyer has claimed.

Gareth Peirce, who represented Guantanamo Bay detainee Moazzem Begg, claimed there was an unprecedented amount of "hatred and venom" being directed against the Muslim community.

Speaking at the Muslim News Fourth Annual Awards for Excellence, Ms Peirce collected the Annemarie Schimmel Award for championing a Muslim cause. In her acceptance speech, she said: "I have never known such venom and such hatred and such constant unchecked fascistic expression of daily appalling, often fabricated, always imagined, always exaggerated verbiage as there has been against the Muslim community.

"We have lost our way in this country. We have entered a new dark age of injustice and it is frightening that we are overwhelmed by it.

"I know I am representing innocent people; Innocent people who know that a jury they face will inevitably be predisposed to find them guilty."

Speaking on Wednesday night to an audience that included Metropolitan Police Commissioner John Stevens, she also questioned the publicity surrounding Tuesday's series of arrests of eight terrorism suspects in the south east of England.

"How is it that anybody in this room knows, or thinks they know, about what is alleged against the people arrested yesterday," she said. "What are the police doing making announcements? What are the newspapers doing?"

Awarding the Good Citizenship Award, Commissioner Stephens also gave a brief speech.

"The headline news this week has inevitably centred once again on the threat posed by international terrorism," he said.

"And, as you are only too aware there are those who would seek to link the actions of extremists with the faith of the Muslim community. Well, put quite simply, they are wrong.

"The overwhelming majority of Muslims in this country are peace loving, law abiding people who completely reject all forms of violence.

"And the Met Police is wholeheartedly committed to the safety of every community in London.

"Of course, we rely on you to report anything you see or hear that you might think is suspicious but equally, we want you to tell us about any incidents of Islamaphobia.

"The need for us to be working together is now more evident than ever before."