The Public Interest

We've all heard this term over and over in the last few years, it's been around in common law for a long time. The question I've always pondered is:

Who get's to decide what is in the "public interest"?

The Government as a whole?
A single politician?
A judge in a crown court?
A public prosecutor sitting in an office in Whitehall?

Just take a look at the term in it's various legal forms and sadly, it is NOT for any one person to decide what is in the "Public Interest" is it? Surely it should be down to the public. Maybe, if we lived in a truly free world we would have the ability to decide if an innocent person can be detained under section 7 for 9 hours? Or a criminal should be prosecuted "In The Public Interest"

Food for thought!

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