On Friday 21 February 2014 Professor Conor Gearty of LSE and Matrix Chambers delivered the 2014 CPL Sir David Williams Lecture entitled "Not in the Public Interest?" at the Faculty of Law, University of Cambridge.
As a former student of Sir David Williams, Gearty spoke fondly of the way Sir David combined his passion for young people and teaching, and his zest for dealing with the challenges of public law. In his lecture Professor Gearty considered the recent decision on the detention of David Miranda, and the Edward Snowdon revelations, and painted them in the context of the way that legislation has been used as a "mere accomplice to secrecy and official impunity".
The Sir David Williams Lecture is an annual address delivered by a guest lecturer in honour of Sir David Williams, Emeritus Rouse Ball Professor of English Law and Emeritus Vice-Chancellor of Cambridge University, hosted by the Centre for Public Law (CPL).
The lecture subsequently featured in an article on the Wired website.
More information about this lecture, including other recorded formats, a transcript, and photographs from the event, is available from the Sir David Williams Lecture pages on the CPL website.
