Lib Dems endorse 'IoS' fight against mental health Bill

The Liberal Democrats will use their annual conference to highlight the "dictatorial and distorted" government plans to change mental health laws and to give their full backing to The Independent on Sunday's campaign on the issue.

Dr Evan Harris, the party's health spokesman, will ask the Lib Dems to call for a reform of the 1983 Mental Health Act based on respect for patient autonomy and care with consent. And he will endorse the IoS as a "leading voice" in building a campaign against the draft Mental Health Bill.

Lib Dem concerns centre on the Government's failure to strike a balance between public safety and civil liberties. Dr Harris said: "It was disappointing that ministers chose to merge much-needed updating of mental health laws with repressive legislation to lock up people with untreatable personality disorders." He added that vulnerable people needed "adequate, properly resourced care" with better access to hospital beds and modern drugs.

The Lib Dems intend to warn against the over-use of compulsory treatment for people with mental health problems and plans to give the state the power to lock up people with severe personality disorders even if they have not committed a crime.

The Lib Dems will also point out that the plans "stigmatise" people with mental health problems by assuming that they will commit crime. "We need to think about mental health in terms of people, not problems," Dr Harris said.