Birmingham Stop the War Coalition

At some point in the challenge to the ban on Palestine Action beginning on Wednesday, the co-founder of the direct action group will be asked to leave courtroom five at the Royal Courts of Justice, as will her legal team and most others present. Then the case will continue without them. When Huda Ammori returns to the room, the special advocate – a security-cleared barrister – who represented her interests in her absence will not be allowed to tell her or her legal team what evidence was presented against Palestine Action. If Ammori asks what allegations were made directly against her, the special advocate must not tell her, even though that means she will have no chance to rebut them. Such is the nature of the secret courts system, known as the closed material procedure (CMP), within which the legal challenge to the ban will be partly heard. Critics of the system, which can be triggered on an application by a secretary of state, include those who have worked within its strictures. Angus McCullough KC, a special advocate for more than 20 years, said: “CMPs are inherently and unavoidably unfair. The justification for them is that they are the ‘least unfair’ way of dealing with cases in which there is relevant material that genuinely cannot be disclosed to the party affected by it because of its sensitivity and potential to cause harm to the wider public interest, for example, national security, if disclosed.”

Tell me what the Conservatives got consistently wrong in state education?

The horrific terrorist attack that took place in Manchester yesterday will have caused significant fear and concern in communities across the UK, including here in London. Yet at a time when we want to be deploying every available officer to ensure the safety of those communities, we are instead having to plan for a gathering of more than 1,000 people in Trafalgar Square on Saturday in support of a terrorist organisation. By choosing to encourage mass law breaking on this scale, Defend Our Juries are drawing resources away from the communities of London at a time when they are needed most. We urge them to do the responsible thing and delay or cancel their plans.