Emergency state

: The freedoms we lost in the pandemic and how to get them back

by Adam Wagner

13th October, 2022

£14.99 ~~£14.99~~ Save 0% | Paperback

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'Superb... authoritative, thoughtful and terrifying in equal measure', The Secret Barrister

'Astonishing. Detailed, dispassionate and definitive. An urgent warning and work of major importance', James O'Brien

0n 26 March 2020, a new law appeared. In eleven pages it locked down tens of millions of people, confined us to our homes, banned socialising, closed shops, gyms, pubs, places of worship. It restricted our freedoms more than any other law in history, justified by the rapid spread of a deadly new virus.

You may have expected such a law to be fiercely debated in Parliament. But it wasn't debated at all. A state of emergency was declared, meaning the law came into force the moment it was signed. The emergency was supposed to be short but lasted for 763 days, allowing ministers to bring in, by decree over 100 new laws restricting freedoms more than any in history - laws that were almost never debated, changed at a whim and increasingly confused the public. Meanwhile, behind the doors of Downing Street, officials and even the Prime Minister broke the very laws they had created.

This book tells the startling story of the state of emergency that brought about an Emergency State. A wake-up call from one of the UK's leading human rights barristers, Emergency State shows us why we must never take our rights for granted.

'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, former President of the UK Supreme Court

'Clear-eyed, forensic and compelling, Wagner sets out what happened during the Covid-19 pandemic - and the lessons we need to learn', Jonathan Freedland, author of The Escape Artist

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.

Details & Specs

Author: Adam Wagner

Publisher: The Bodley Head

Format: Paperback

ISBN: 9781847927460

Publication Date: 13th October, 2022

Pages: 200

Dimensions: 216 x 135 x 18 mm

Availability: Available, usually dispatched within 4 days

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