Hello GOGos,

I don't know how many people have heard about this recently, but it has genuinely shocked me to the point that I'm actually going to try contacting my MP about it. A quick summary is that there are (and have been for 6 years though we couldn't be told) powers that the court can grant to have a person all but literally gagged.

The basic case: http://www.thedrum.co.uk/news/2011/03/21/19854-hyper-injunctions-in-the-dock-for-undermining-freedom-of-speech/

A fuller account: http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=1&storycode=46848&c=1

An interesting legal thought on the issue: http://www.halsburyslawexchange.co.uk/hyper-injunctions-%E2%80%93-should-the-courts-have-the-power/

I really feel the pressure needs to be kept on Parliament to act on this. When the courts can rule that we cannot speak, then things have got very bad. Furthermore, the only people with sufficient legal clout to actually get such a ruling, are the rich and powerful.

I'm writing to my MP. I'd ask that others do the same, it's as simple as emailing them. They are already aware of it, but we need to keep it high profile.

What is particularly worrying about this is that this man, a whistle blower from a large multi national paint company, was taken to court over his allegations of toxic materials leaching out of a paint used to coat drinking water tanks.
Look at http://cryptome.org/0003/hempel-toxic.pdf for further information.
I do not think that this is entirely a UK issue since the company involved has offices in over 23 countries including the US. It seems to me that everyone should be aware of how they react when people raise concerns over the safety of their paint.
You can also look at this website though it's not quite as helpful....
www.hempel.com

You know I heard the term hyper-injunction recently, maybe from a guardian article - don't quite remember. I thought at the time it was just another name for a super-injunction, which is bad enough in itself, but this seems to go above and beyond.

Ashamedly my first thought was to do nothing, but then I realized I'm always moaning about political apathy being one of the biggest problems this country has, and clearly if I do nothing then I'm a part of it. So I'll write to my MP, if just to kill the crushing guilt of the realization.

I'm pretty sure the UK has had gag-orders and the like for decades, if not longer. So I really don't see anything being done to remove such powers now.

It's different. The UK has had the official secrets act, which were there to protect our security services, and to help maintain a military advantage. However this represents the ability for someone to apply for a gag. it's not just the government, it means that a person can actually be cut off from their right to protest. This would be wrong even from the government, but this is accessible by a third party. The third link I posted presents arguments why this is such a dangerous development.

I appreciate your help, I'm amazed more people aren't angry about it. It seems to me that this is one of the most aggressive moves against free speech we've had in the last half a century. I hate to say it, but we need to be more like the americans.

Did you even read it? It's a letter to a MP - nothing legal in it and in all honesty, it is quite unprofessional.

We know virtually nothing about this case and why the "hyper-injunction" was used, yet the torches have already been lit. This whole thing is a load of baloney created by misrepresentations by a MP.