Liberty is the leading civil rights organisation in the UK. Liberty promote the values of individual human dignity, equal treatment and fairness as the foundations of a democratic society. We all fundamentally believe in these but tend to take them for granted. Personally I am drawn to the organisation by the story of their foundation as it illustrates how even in a social democracy such as ours the “powers that be” can overstep the mark. Liberty were founded in 1932 in response to the Metropolitan Police using agent provocateurs when the hunger strikers arrived in London. 

From protecting privacy and free speech to fighting discrimination and injustice, we’ve come a long way since 1934. But we can’t take human rights for granted. Abuses of power keep on coming: mass surveillance; infiltration of peaceful protestors by undercover police; the decimation of legal aid and access to justice.