Taken from the HOC Hansard Debate for December 02 1994. The M11 link road came up in Parliament many times, the other such occasion which the webmaster of this site considers to be most interesting (after browsing through several dozen) being this one.
Harry Cohen: Before the Home Secretary leaves the issue of public order, will he tell the House the cost of the operation that took place this week in my constituency at Claremont Road, in relation to the M11 link road? The Department of Transport is to blame for that situation. Will he also explain why riot police officers have been present at that protest, as they have been present at other demonstrations in London, without numbers on their police uniforms? That seems to be a habit among the riot police. Will the Home Secretary do something about it?
Michael Howard: What an astonishing intervention from the hon. Gentleman. Is he not prepared to condemn those who are breaking the law by trespassing on land and obstructing its lawful use? Does he not accept that any democratically elected Government have the right to decide, in accordance with proper procedures, whether a road should be built and that, when a decision has been taken with all the authority of the law, no one has the right to thwart that expression of the will of the people? Those are the actions which the hon. Gentleman ought to condemn. It is astonishing that he should rise and not condemn the activities which have led to that police action.
Harry Cohen: I have discussed the matter with local police and even they recognise the people's right to demonstrate and protest, peacefully and legally, and resist the scheme every step of the way. It is their right to do so. The Home Secretary does not seem to understand that civil liberties are at stake. That is no surprise, because Mr. John Maples, vice-chairman of the Conservative party, gave the game away in a leaked memorandum in which he said, "Civil liberties don't matter; let's get rid of a few civil liberties to test whether Tony Blair will accept them in the House." That is how much the Tories care about civil liberties.
Michael Howard: The cause of civil liberty is not advanced by the deliberate obfuscation of the clear difference between peaceful protest, which is the democratic right of people in this country with which we do not interfere, and the obstruction of lawful activities on other people's land. No civilised, democratic society should be asked to tolerate it. That is the key distinction which the hon. Gentleman totally fails to face.
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