> But the lockdown is without doubt the greatest interference with personal liberty in our history. Previous crises in British history included forced conscrip

> But the lockdown is without doubt the greatest interference with personal liberty in our history. Previous crises in British history included forced conscription and dropping you over Nazi Germany on a 1940s parachute. That would seem to interfere with personal liberty at least as much as being asked to avoid orgies and the suffering that is no football on TV. > To say that life is priceless and nothing else counts is just empty rhetoric. Which is why nobody is saying that. > Life is a family celebration with children and grandchildren. Life is companionship, an arm around one's back, laughter or tears shared at less than two metres. These things are not just optional extras. They are life itself. Now who's engaging in empty rhetorical flourishes?