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Terrorism Bill

My Lords, I hope that if this country were under a severe tyranny—and I do not mean the half-hearted amateur effort that my present Government are making, I mean a really severe tyranny—I hope that I would be prepared to use violence. I hope that I would be prepared to risk my life to restore some of the things that we all hold good, including the right gently to pull the leg of the noble Baroness opposite. The noble Baroness, Lady Williams, has proposed the inclusion of a very sensible caveat, because some outside tyrannies are so awful that there is no way of dealing with them other than by internal rebellion, which, unfortunately, will always get nasty. All violence is nasty but sometimes it is justified. The Bench of Bishops will, I am sure, give me a lecture on St Augustine’s ““just war”” because he said so. The baronage used to say that they had the right to rebel against the King when he cheated on them. That is all that the noble Baroness—I nearly said ““my noble friend””; perhaps I actually mean it sometimes—Lady Williams of Crosby, was saying. Therefore I support her amendment.