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Emergency State: How We Lost Our Freedoms in the Pandemic and Why it Matters
0n 26 March 2020, a new law appeared. In eleven pages it locked down tens of millions of people, confined us to our homes, banned socialising, closed shops, gyms, pubs, places of worship. It restricted our freedoms more than any other law in history, justified by the rapid spread of a deadly new virus.
You may have expected such a law to be fiercely debated in Parliament. But it wasn't debated at all. A state of emergency was declared, meaning the law came into force the moment it was signed. The emergency was supposed to be short but lasted for 763 days, allowing ministers to bring in, by decree over 100 new laws restricting freedoms more than any in history - laws that were almost never debated, changed at a whim and increasingly confused the public. Meanwhile, behind the doors of Downing Street, officials and even the Prime Minister broke the very laws they had created.
This book tells the startling story of the state of emergency that brought about an Emergency State. A wake-up call from one of the UK's leading human rights barristers, Emergency State shows us why we must never take our rights for granted.
You may have expected such a law to be fiercely debated in Parliament. But it wasn't debated at all. A state of emergency was declared, meaning the law came into force the moment it was signed. The emergency was supposed to be short but lasted for 763 days, allowing ministers to bring in, by decree over 100 new laws restricting freedoms more than any in history - laws that were almost never debated, changed at a whim and increasingly confused the public. Meanwhile, behind the doors of Downing Street, officials and even the Prime Minister broke the very laws they had created.
This book tells the startling story of the state of emergency that brought about an Emergency State. A wake-up call from one of the UK's leading human rights barristers, Emergency State shows us why we must never take our rights for granted.
240 pages, Paperback
Published October 13, 2022
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190 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
September 27, 2024
I wrote a review but it disappeared. Bottom line: those who supported the Coronavirus Act shouldn't now be moaning about its son and heir the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022.
December 22, 2022
Good overview of the lockdown years (though as Wagner says, after two "freedom" days, who is to tell if it's really all over?) from the perspective of a human rights lawyer who was active throughout. This is a softly excoriating review of government behaviour, overreach and the risks to society from it. This concise read frequently balances the need for the government to sometimes focus on one right (right to life) more than others with the attraction of unchecked power. As the book goes through a linear narrative, Wagner peppers examples of overreach and corruption, while giving as much benefit of doubt as possible.
Overall a prescient (but very light) warning about the possible direction of our society and the weaknesses COVID and the response to it have demonstrated in our fundamental structures.
Overall a prescient (but very light) warning about the possible direction of our society and the weaknesses COVID and the response to it have demonstrated in our fundamental structures.
December 6, 2022
Very interesting!!
January 4, 2023
A timley reminder of how flimsy a thread our democracy hangs. In fact the country was taken over not by a committee of politicians but by the W. H. O and faceless unelected scientists who used a tiny amount of the vast scientific evidence to instruct our government. If anyone offered evidence contrary to the sage committee they were ridiculed and labelled a conspiracy theorist. Debate was shut down a true sign we were living under a dictatorship. We were frightened into accepting these draconian laws through a stream of lies by the government, the greatly exaggerated number of deaths attributed to the virus and the attempt to demonise the unvaccinated by lying that it stopped people being able to catch the virus from a vaccinated person. As the author states at the end measures need implementing now. The next emergency state may be just around the corner, we are already on a war footing with Russia and China. Beware
November 24, 2022
Adam Wagner has produced a singularly important book that covers the period of the Covid epidemic outbreak in the UK (not that it has necessariy ended) and shows how government, perhaps in a state of panic, centralised powers of legislation and enforcement not seen since WWII.
Wagner's argument is that those powers, which may have been necessary at the time, were not scrutinised by Parliament, badly policed and resulted in a type of judicial fawning that assumed Governmen knew best and where judges appeared unsettled by any suggestion that they should rule on the law, rather than on the exceptional times we lived in.
This book is well written, easy to read and its conclusions well-argued.
Just as a history of the time, it is an important reminder of the period but also how government can take advantage of situations. That the UK had Boris Johnson as PM was, for many people, a disaster. Those people included the more than 200,000 that died from Covid19 infection where government imposed unbelieveably hard to understand laws, with haphazard changes, implemented as laws and guidelines where few understood the difference. The few did not include most of the UK police force that ruled on guidelines (against the law) and imposed fines on many that did not warrant them.
Government was not at its worst as that would have led to the end of democracy but it was seen to be shambolic. That a joker was PM was bad enough but those he surrounded himself with (like Mike Hancock, Minister for Health (!) now in the I'm a Celebrity jungle) were not just incautious but mendacious, corrupt and highly ineffective. Much of this is well-described in the book.
The incredible amounts wasted on panic-buying of PPE and other important needs during the crisis as well as £37bn on an ineffective Test and Trace system is well documented. This was due partly to panic but also enabled corruption as is being seen with the recent expose of Lady Mone. Too many used the crisis for profit and while many in government were just pathetically poor at their job, others were corrupt and / or corruptible. Too many in the police (or other policing organisations) turned away from action due to lack of understanding or maybe influence from others.
This is a tale of ineptitude but also of corruption. The corruption of power in government - seen at the heart of Johnson's period as PM - needs to be seriously exposed. That Lord Geidt has still not been replaced as Ethics Advisor to the PM is shameful but not unexpected. The UK has travelled far from its former self as a beacon of good government. It was not the Truss 49 days of economic pandemonium that upset it. It was the period from early 2020 and the onset of Covid19. We still have a long way back.
Wagner's argument is that those powers, which may have been necessary at the time, were not scrutinised by Parliament, badly policed and resulted in a type of judicial fawning that assumed Governmen knew best and where judges appeared unsettled by any suggestion that they should rule on the law, rather than on the exceptional times we lived in.
This book is well written, easy to read and its conclusions well-argued.
Just as a history of the time, it is an important reminder of the period but also how government can take advantage of situations. That the UK had Boris Johnson as PM was, for many people, a disaster. Those people included the more than 200,000 that died from Covid19 infection where government imposed unbelieveably hard to understand laws, with haphazard changes, implemented as laws and guidelines where few understood the difference. The few did not include most of the UK police force that ruled on guidelines (against the law) and imposed fines on many that did not warrant them.
Government was not at its worst as that would have led to the end of democracy but it was seen to be shambolic. That a joker was PM was bad enough but those he surrounded himself with (like Mike Hancock, Minister for Health (!) now in the I'm a Celebrity jungle) were not just incautious but mendacious, corrupt and highly ineffective. Much of this is well-described in the book.
The incredible amounts wasted on panic-buying of PPE and other important needs during the crisis as well as £37bn on an ineffective Test and Trace system is well documented. This was due partly to panic but also enabled corruption as is being seen with the recent expose of Lady Mone. Too many used the crisis for profit and while many in government were just pathetically poor at their job, others were corrupt and / or corruptible. Too many in the police (or other policing organisations) turned away from action due to lack of understanding or maybe influence from others.
This is a tale of ineptitude but also of corruption. The corruption of power in government - seen at the heart of Johnson's period as PM - needs to be seriously exposed. That Lord Geidt has still not been replaced as Ethics Advisor to the PM is shameful but not unexpected. The UK has travelled far from its former self as a beacon of good government. It was not the Truss 49 days of economic pandemonium that upset it. It was the period from early 2020 and the onset of Covid19. We still have a long way back.
October 18, 2025
(3 to 3.5 stars)
What this book does well in reasoned language backed up by evidence is highlight how the Government implemented the emergency state in ways that undermined human rights, meant policy was not scrutinised and Parliament became little more than a rubber stamping body. On top of this the Government acted as if the rules they implemented did not apply to them.
Furthermore, in no small part due to a lack of scrutiny, police in particular were confused about what was law, what was permitted and what was guidance. When it comes to the police, Wagner explains well inconsistent policing and a lack of knowledge of the regulations they were meant to enforce, which were swiftly changing and often as clear as mud, due to a lack of scrutiny of the Government's legislation.
Wagner is particularly good in talking about #ReclaimTheStreet and how the Government and Police interpreted the emergency laws it made in a way that unjustly undermined freedom of protest. He does this in a way that makes potentially dry legal concepts and judgements easy to understand for the lay reader.
I do however take issue with some of this book, no doubt apart from the first lockdown due to the fact I became a lockdown sceptic who from the experience of a Mother who suffered from cancer during the pandemic, saw how many people died from other conditions such as cancer and the cure became worse than the disease. That said I was put off by the extreme nature of the anti-lockdown movement, particularly its kooky views on vaccinations and their despicable comparisons with Nazi Germany.
Wagner at the beginning of the book states he's not a scientist and won't talk about the scientific justification or not for lockdown, yet throughout the book he does ust from a moderately pro lockdown position, undermining his initial statement. He ignores that on lockdowns the scientific consensus is breaking down. He also ignores countries who managed with less restrictions like Sweden and Iceland.
On top of this I'm not convinced like him that a codified constitution would work better and I don't think the UK was exceptional in democracies who trampled over human rights in the pandemic - Germany, France, Spain and Israel show this to be true.
Finally I found the writing dry at times and I have a pet peeve, there shouldn't be commas before and. Additionally, you shouldn't start a sentence with But, yet this happened throughout the book.
The book is good in explaining the dangers, flaws and lack of scrutiny of the emergency state that was built. It also makes some good suggestions, particularly when it comes to improving Parliamentary oversight. That said there are significant flaws with the book, hence my mark.
What this book does well in reasoned language backed up by evidence is highlight how the Government implemented the emergency state in ways that undermined human rights, meant policy was not scrutinised and Parliament became little more than a rubber stamping body. On top of this the Government acted as if the rules they implemented did not apply to them.
Furthermore, in no small part due to a lack of scrutiny, police in particular were confused about what was law, what was permitted and what was guidance. When it comes to the police, Wagner explains well inconsistent policing and a lack of knowledge of the regulations they were meant to enforce, which were swiftly changing and often as clear as mud, due to a lack of scrutiny of the Government's legislation.
Wagner is particularly good in talking about #ReclaimTheStreet and how the Government and Police interpreted the emergency laws it made in a way that unjustly undermined freedom of protest. He does this in a way that makes potentially dry legal concepts and judgements easy to understand for the lay reader.
I do however take issue with some of this book, no doubt apart from the first lockdown due to the fact I became a lockdown sceptic who from the experience of a Mother who suffered from cancer during the pandemic, saw how many people died from other conditions such as cancer and the cure became worse than the disease. That said I was put off by the extreme nature of the anti-lockdown movement, particularly its kooky views on vaccinations and their despicable comparisons with Nazi Germany.
Wagner at the beginning of the book states he's not a scientist and won't talk about the scientific justification or not for lockdown, yet throughout the book he does ust from a moderately pro lockdown position, undermining his initial statement. He ignores that on lockdowns the scientific consensus is breaking down. He also ignores countries who managed with less restrictions like Sweden and Iceland.
On top of this I'm not convinced like him that a codified constitution would work better and I don't think the UK was exceptional in democracies who trampled over human rights in the pandemic - Germany, France, Spain and Israel show this to be true.
Finally I found the writing dry at times and I have a pet peeve, there shouldn't be commas before and. Additionally, you shouldn't start a sentence with But, yet this happened throughout the book.
The book is good in explaining the dangers, flaws and lack of scrutiny of the emergency state that was built. It also makes some good suggestions, particularly when it comes to improving Parliamentary oversight. That said there are significant flaws with the book, hence my mark.
October 16, 2022
I highly recommend this book. It is very engaging and clearly written and has a profoundly telling point to make about the unaccountable way in which law was made and out country run for the last two years.
I have always uncomfortable about the preening self confidence of Lord Sumption and others on the basis of no scientific expertise whatseover dismissing the need for lockdowns out of hand because they don't like them. Wagner's point is a different one, that Parliamentary and other scrutiny was deliberately avoided as inconvenient by a Government that was already willing to pirogue Parliament on Brexit when that suited them.
The slapdash way in which law and guidance started to be produced then became a tsunami of contradictory statements that even the authors couldn't understand, let alone the people required to enforce them, especially the police.
I was also left recalling just how traumatic and surreal the whole experience was and I must have been one of the luckiest and least affected people in the population.
My only slight criticism I would have of this excellent book is that I would like to have seen more comparative work about the countries that did manage a more accountable approach. This is mentioned briefly but I would have been interested in much more.
A truly important book and a bleak warning against continuing on this path of elected dictatorship.
I have always uncomfortable about the preening self confidence of Lord Sumption and others on the basis of no scientific expertise whatseover dismissing the need for lockdowns out of hand because they don't like them. Wagner's point is a different one, that Parliamentary and other scrutiny was deliberately avoided as inconvenient by a Government that was already willing to pirogue Parliament on Brexit when that suited them.
The slapdash way in which law and guidance started to be produced then became a tsunami of contradictory statements that even the authors couldn't understand, let alone the people required to enforce them, especially the police.
I was also left recalling just how traumatic and surreal the whole experience was and I must have been one of the luckiest and least affected people in the population.
My only slight criticism I would have of this excellent book is that I would like to have seen more comparative work about the countries that did manage a more accountable approach. This is mentioned briefly but I would have been interested in much more.
A truly important book and a bleak warning against continuing on this path of elected dictatorship.
January 3, 2023
A good companion to A State of Fear: How the UK government weaponised fear during the Covid-19 pandemic, but taking a legal, rather than sociological approach. I didn’t know anything of Warner’s social media or TV presence before reading this, so it was good to discover how influential and significant his contribution had been to the debate. Too often, after reading a book like this, I’m left thinking - ‘but so what? What are you doing about it?’ , so it made a refreshing change to read about somebody actually standing up, challenging mistakes and making a difference.
At times, the legal arguments are a little dull (to me at least - that’s why I don’t work in law) but the author does a great job of explaining the relevance and importance of what the government got wrong, and why it matters.
At times, the legal arguments are a little dull (to me at least - that’s why I don’t work in law) but the author does a great job of explaining the relevance and importance of what the government got wrong, and why it matters.
January 18, 2023
I followed Adam Wagner's posts on Twitter throughout the pandemic and found them very helpful both in understanding how the rules affected my own life and how the legal aspects of lockdowns etc were being managed. Although his reporting did not instil confidence in the government, I was relieved that someone with legal expertise was following events so closely. He has now performed a further important public service by writing this book which presents an alarming analysis of what has happened, from the perspective of human rights. The story of how a state of emergency can morph into the Emergency State is gripping and readable, as well as deeply worrying. We should all be very concerned about the ways in which concentration of power and lack of scrutiny allowed not only incompetence but also corruption with devastating consequences. The book ends with important suggestions for ways in which this could be avoided in future crises. Everyone should read this.
December 19, 2022
I recently finished my read-through of ‘Emergency State’ by Adam Wagner, a book designed to challenge the readers perceptions of the law surrounding COVID-19. It does so in a spectacular, engaging and persuasive way.
The book has an aura of intrigue from the front cover, and this theme is continued throughout the text. Wagner writes the book in a way that makes the reader question if their rights were impeded while simultaneously providing a fiery damnation of the government’s actions during this time of ‘emergency’. Furthermore, he outlines the dire lessons we should take from this tumultuous time and how we must never allow the emergency state to return.
I would highly recommend Wagner’s book to anyone who would like a thoughtful read and is interested in how the political landscape shifted during the pandemic.
The book has an aura of intrigue from the front cover, and this theme is continued throughout the text. Wagner writes the book in a way that makes the reader question if their rights were impeded while simultaneously providing a fiery damnation of the government’s actions during this time of ‘emergency’. Furthermore, he outlines the dire lessons we should take from this tumultuous time and how we must never allow the emergency state to return.
I would highly recommend Wagner’s book to anyone who would like a thoughtful read and is interested in how the political landscape shifted during the pandemic.
January 14, 2023
A very clear and authoritative analysis of the UK's coronavirus laws between 2020-22. The author, a human rights barrister who acted in many related cases, discusses how many of the laws bypassed Parliament, were seldom challenged by the courts, and were decided in private by a small committee of ministers, whose meetings were never minuted. This resulted in unclear and frequently changing regulations, which were frequently misunderstood by the public and by the police, resulting in many wrongful prosecutions, and which were at odds with human rights law. Important reading.
December 31, 2022
I was struck by the extensive similarities in the ‘chat’ Wagner reports among legal professionals and the ‘chat’ I participated in as a public health professional. Wagner’s central argument is that the ‘emergency state’ needs clearer boundaries within the English constitution. His argument won me round.
More here: https://sjhoward.co.uk/what-ive-been-...
More here: https://sjhoward.co.uk/what-ive-been-...
December 6, 2022
very little analysis on how devolved legislatives and governments handled the pandemic and to what extent they too were apart of the 'Emergency state'. Northern Ireland was mentioned once, Scotland a few times although I don't think Wales was even mentioned once throughout.
January 3, 2023
This feels like one of the important books, we'll use this book for years to come to analyse the importance Human rights and our freedoms
May 6, 2024
A handy tome which hopefully remains historical in value.
April 24, 2025
good primer/overview of COVID restrictions and the role of parliament. could have benefited from more in-depth analysis.
May 31, 2023
Recently interesting book on the government's responses to the pandemic
December 6, 2022
A clearly presented account of how the rule of law and liberal democracy were affected in England by the COVID-19 pandemic. One of the great strengths of the book is the way in which the UK’s constitutional processes are explained in easily digestible language for those without a legal background. However, one or two of the recommendations in the final chapter would have benefited from further explanation and arrive at the reader a little out of the blue.
September 20, 2024
Rating: 4✨ | Date finished: 30th March 2023
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews