Lynne Featherstone

Pinch, punch, first of the month and no returns! Constituency matters today and am on media duty as our Shadow Home Secretary (Nick Clegg) is away. Today's big issue is the report of the JCHR (Joint Committee on Human Rights) in regard of Control Orders. It's not an earth shattering surprise – and its findings are in line with our position on the whole.

What the Government really should do instead is to change the law to allow intercept evidence to be used in court. Other developed countries use this very obvious tool for evidence - so why a Government that is happy to incarcerate people and take away their human rights should suddenly get coy about an absolutely practical way to gather evidence is beyond me.

Anyway - later in the day the Government lost its appeal on Control Orders and so will have to go back to the drawing board on how to achieve its aims without turning into the sort of country using the sort of practises that we condemn in any other part of the world.