Shami Chakrabarti

On 11 September 2001, our world changed. The West's response to 9/11 has morphed into a period of exception from human rights norms. Governments have decided that the rule of law and human rights are often too costly.

Now, Shami Chakrabarti – who joined Liberty, the UK's leading civil rights organisation, on 10 September 2001 – explores why our fundamental rights and freedoms are indispensable.

She talks with Jude Kelly about the unprecedented pressures those rights are under today.

Drawing on her own work in high-profile campaigns, from privacy laws to anti-terror legislation, Chakrabarti shows the threats to our democratic institutions and why our rights are paramount in upholding democracy.

'Probably the most effective public affairs lobbyist of the past 20 years' (David Aaronovitch, The Times).

'The most dangerous woman in Britain' (The Sun).