So where do the Tories stand on civil liberties?

Hugh Muir makes an excellent point in his diary piece in the Guardian today, which again highlights the disparity between what the Conservatives say in the UK and how they vote in the European Parliament.

Muir neatly juxtoposes David Cameron’s professed distaste for ID cards with the news that most of his Tory MEPs voted against a resolution in the European Parliament which condemned Silvio Berlusconi’s plans to fingerprint Roma children - a far more drastic measure, introduced in a discriminatory way against a particular group.

Of all the Tories present, just one didn’t back Berlusconi’s plans to ethnically profile the Roma. Last week’s vote of course took place in the same week as David Davis’s re-election to the Commons. Presumably this was the Tory MEPs' contribution to his debate on civil liberties.