Phillip Pullman protests UK school vetting laws
His Dark Materials author Phillip Pullman has come out against new laws announced in the United Kingdom that would see anyone having regular contact with children to be certified by a government authority.
More information about the initiative — dubbed the “Vetting and Barring Scheme” can be found on the site of the UK Government’s Independent Safeguarding Authority.
Pullman appears to have made his views clear in a few different publications. He tells the Open University’s Platform site:
“It’s ridiculous that we have to pay £64 to get a moral certificate from the Government … The default is that you shouldn’t trust people. But all of us — politicians, writers, artists – should work towards a society where the default is that a person can be trusted; that someone’s word of honour means something. But this simply isn’t happening. Society is just moving in the opposite direction.”
Further Pullman comments can be found in a BBC article on the subject.
(via SFWA)
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