Off to University College London and Bindman's annual debate last week, where an impressive line-up included David Blunkett, former home secretary, Lord Carlile of Berriew QC, independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, Shami Chakrabarti, director of Liberty, and Professor Conor Gearty, human rights expert at the London School of Economics. The distinguished quartet exchanged views on whether 'the rules of the game' have changed in terms of balancing the needs of national security and civil liberties following the 11 September attacks and the 7 July London bombings.


Serious stuff, of course, which kept the entire audience gripped. Or so Obiter thought, until second speaker Gearty was asked to turn the microphone up by audience members at the back of the lecture hall. 'I wondered why I had been so warmly received,' he joked, only for Blunkett to quip that nobody had cared enough about what he had to say to ask him to turn up the mic beforehand. Perish the thought.