Overview

Emergency State is both a record and a warning - a ringside account of a turbulent period when our laws were remade more radically than ever before, and a wake-up call to why we must value our rights and liberties. On 26 March 2020, a new law appeared. In 11 pages, it locked down 60 million people, restricting us to our homes, banning gatherings, closing shops, gyms, places of worship. It restricted our rights more than any other law in history. You might have expected such a law to be fiercely debated in Parliament. But it wasn't debated at all. Using an emergency procedure, it came into force the moment it was signed. Amazingly, over 100 other new laws were brought in by ministerial declaration over the next 440 days, almost never debated, and some - we would find out - stained with corruption. Emergency laws have existed for thousands of years. But giving leaders or governments unbridled power has never ended well. It's not the point that these laws and the lockdowns appeared to work- they turbo-charged a longstanding erosion of our rights. Now the genie is out of the bottle and we must face up to how they were made or risk an even more audacious power grab next time. Emergency State tells the story of how this bonfire of liberties happened. Many of us would prefer to forget this period in our history. Instead, we need to understand what happened and why. And stop it happening again.

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9781847927460

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A riveting account of how our democracy was put under threat during the Pandemic and why we must never let the Emergency State - all-powerful but ignorant and corrupt - take over again. * Lady Hale, Baroness of Richmond, DBE, PC, FBA * A brilliant analysis of law and politics over the two years in which Britain became a virtual police state -- Geoffrey Robertson QC Piercing and profoundly troubling, this is a journey to the heart of the pandemic and the great British struggle to balance the well-being of the individual and the group. A tale of rights and misdemeanours, told with a passion of power and forensic precision * Philippe Sands, author of East West Street * Absolutely invaluable. Adam Wagner has been an indispensable guide and this is a gripping, important, definitive book * Dr Xand van Tulleken *

Absolutely invaluable. Adam Wagner has been an indispensable guide and this is a gripping, important, definitive book * Dr Xand van Tulleken * A brilliant analysis of law and politics over the two years in which Britain became a virtual police state -- Geoffrey Robertson QC

Author Information

Adam Wagner is one of the UK's leading human rights barristers and the country's pre-eminent expert on COVID-19 laws. He was described in the House of Lords as 'the only person in the country who can make sense of this variety of regulations'. He appears regularly on TV and radio, and during the pandemic was often called upon to interpret the bewildering COVID-19 laws, explaining to Piers Morgan whether it was legal to sit on a park bench and helping the public understand when politicians broke the law. Adam has acted in some of the key human rights cases of recent years, including for #ReclaimTheseStreets in their successful case against the Metropolitan Police relating to the vigil following the murder of Sarah Everard. He was Specialist Advisor to the Joint Committee on Human Rights inquiry into the human rights implications of COVID-19 and is a Visiting Professor of Law at Goldsmiths, University of London. He practises from Doughty Street Chambers.

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