A LEADING civil rights campaigner is hosting a public lecture at Bedales in which she will explore the democratic rights and freedoms we enjoy.

Shami Chakrabarti became the in-house counsel for Liberty, the National Council for Civil Liberties, in 2001, involved in its engagement with the ‘War on Terror’ and the defence and promotion of human rights.

In 2003 she was appointed a director of the campaign group, but this month the 46-year-old said after 12 years at the helm, it was time to move on.

Under her leadership, Liberty has campaigned on issues such as stop-and-search powers and compulsory ID cards.

She said Liberty was now stronger than ever before.

Last year her first book, On Liberty, was published.

In it she argues that post 9/11, governments decided that the law and human rights are often too costly, and shows the unprecedented pressures those rights are under today.

Drawing on her work, from privacy laws to anti-terror legislation, she reveals the threats to our democratic institutions and shows why human rights underpin democracy.

Tickets for the lecture on Wednesday, January 27, at 8pm in the Bedales Quad are available from One Tree Books in Lavant Street, Petersfield, or the Bedales Box Office – call 01730 711511 or e-mail: [email protected]