The liberties which preserve between them the rule of law and the rights of individuals have been systematically eroded by recent governments. This government has been the most recent to attack them, and has also been the most determined. It has cited what seem plausible reasons for each action, but the cumulative effect has been to subvert the rules which protect us.
The ASI will point to the fundamental principles which have been abandoned or critically weakened. David Davis was correct to highlight this insidious trend, and courageous to make a stand against it. The Westminster journalists who try to trivialize this diminish themselves by doing so.
The first of these eroded liberties we identify is the presumption of innocence. It has been weakened to catch serious fraud cases. Now individuals may be required to prove that they made their money legitimately, rather than having the state required to prove they broke the law. We should not have to justify our actions to the state unless and until it does that. The erosion of this right crucially alters the burden of proof which should be required to threaten a person’s liberty. The rule which should be restored is that a person is innocent until found guilty.
