Henry Porter

Sunday 10 October 2010,  The Observer

Unless the business secretary intervenes, the merger of BSkyB with News International could further threaten the wellbeing of British media

28 September 2010,  Henry Porter, Our Kingdom, OpenDemocracy.net

This is a contribution to a seminar held to accompany the Tate Modern's Exhibition Exposed: Voyeurism, Surveillance and the Camera. 

The Crime Writers' Association have announced the finalists for the CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger. The four finalists are: The Dying Light by Henry Porter (Orion), A Loyal Spy by Simon Conway (Hodder & Stoughton), Innocent by Scott Turow (Mantle) and The Gentlemen’s Hour by Don Winslow (Heinemann). The winner will be announced at The Specsavers Crime Thriller Awards 2010, which will take place on the evening of Friday 8th October at the Grosvenor House Hotel, Park Lane, London. The Awards will be screened on ITV3 on Tuesday, October 12th.

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Wednesday 22 September 2010,  Tate Modern, Bankside, London SE1

A symposium to accompany Tate Modern's Exposed: Voyeurism, Surveillance and the Camera, chaired by Charles Haddon-Cave QC with speakers Lord Hoffmann, Alison Jackson, Max Mosley & Henry Porter. Much of Exposed (28 May – 3 Oct 2010) focuses on surveillance and images produced using automatic technology such as CCTV. The issues raised are particularly relevant in the current climate, with topical debates raging around the rights and desires of individuals, terrorism and the increasing availability and use of surveillance. Exposed confronts these issues and their implications head-on.

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Tuesday 21st September,  Southwark Playhouse, Shipwright Yard, London SE1

Inspired by the picnic protests held in Parliament Square between 2005 and 2007, Boiling Frogs (Sept 14th - Oct 2nd 2010) pits a small group of imaginative citizens against the system as, armed only with fancy dress, blank banners and a keen eye for semantics, they attempt to re-claim freedom of speech for all. Written by Steven Bloomer and directed by Alex Hassell, Boiling Frogs is the first full length new play to be developed, workshopped and produced by The Factory. Supporting the play will be a series of post-show discussions probing the issues raised by Boiling Frogs. Picnics, Protests and the Coalition, with guests Henry Porter and Mark Barrett, discusses the way civil liberties changed during New Labour and what the new coalition government is doing about it.

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Sunday 12 September 2010,  The Observer

Murdoch has become one of the political issues of our time, as menacing in his own special way to democracy and conduct of politics as many other threats our society faces

Saturday 11 September 2010,  The Guardian

Freed from the constraints that went with being Britain's first senior law lord, Tom Bingham was able to be more open in public about the deep commitment to liberty and rights that had informed so many of his judgments, notably those concerning the internment of foreign terror suspects at Belmarsh prison, south-east London, and the use of information gained by torture. 

September 9 2010,  House of Commons - Hansard

Anyone can have their phone tapped by the newspapers, and they do. The House does not forget them as we debate the narrow issue of the abuse of MPs’ privilege...

Friday 23 July 2010,  Liberty Central, Guardian

The public needs to see justice done. Instead the DPP's decision sends a message that the police are immune from prosecution

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Wednesday 14 July 2010,  Liberty Central, Guardian

The review of UK terrorism laws reveals a home secretary moving in the right direction on civil liberties

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Sunday 11 July 2010,  The Observer

David Cameron and Nick Clegg share a view of the state which is fundamentally distinct from Labour's centralised authority