by Melanie Phillips
British judges appear to have succumbed to the madness engulfing their country
When Britain’s Home Secretary banned Palestine Action last July, many thought this was using a sledgehammer to crack a nut.
They thought it preposterous that grey-haired librarians and church wardens were being carted off by the police as terrorism supporters, when they were merely demonstrating support for the group’s stated purpose to “stop the genocide” in Gaza.
They also thought it wrong to accuse Palestine Action of terrorism. This was because it wasn’t murdering people like Hamas or Isis; some members had merely caused criminal damage which should be dealt with by the criminal law.
Such people have therefore welcomed last week’s High Court ruling that the Home Secretary acted unlawfully in proscribing Palestine Action as a terrorist organisation.
However, this is based on a failureto understand the ruling, the core of which — beneath its convoluted legal argument — is highly disturbing.