Muammar Al Khadafi

Professor Racquel Rolink, the UN special rapporteur on housing, has written to the government criticising moves to evict more than 400 travellers who are camped illegally at Dale Farm, Essex.

In the scathing letter, seen by the Telegraph, Professor Rolink claims that any eviction would breach the travellers human rights, and urges authorities to halt the eviction and negotiate with travellers.

To add insult to injury, she also raises the spectre of compensating the travellers saying that "It is now of utmost importance that the rights of the residents to fair compensation for their lost homes and property and the provision of adequate alternative housing are fully respected"

That's right, of course professor, lets give them some compensation and some new housing, we'll reward them for flouting planning regulations and imposing a huge cost on police and local resources.

One wonders if you would be so sympathetic to their plight and willing to champion their cause if 400 of them set up a camp right next to your own home.

Would you celebrate in the enrichment which these charming nomads brought to your local community, and welcome them with open arms as you watched property prices plummet and your community suffer massive disruption?

We'll never know the answer, most human rights pundits are nicely insulated within their ivory towers, they'll never have to experience the day to day realities which the rest of us live through, realities made far worse by the ever present spectre of human rights which have long since transcended anything so mundane as common sense.

Rights champions like Professor Rolink have ensured that there are now two groups of people within the UK - the law abiding majority who have no rights, and minorities who have an army of lawyers queueing up to turn the merest whim into a God given, legally enshrined right no matter what laws the rest of us may have to obey.

It's a sad reality that those pushing for so many of these rights for every group under the sun will never have to live with the consequences of those rights being given, the reality is something for the little people like the rest of us to bear.

Perhaps, to set an example to us all and really show that she does champion the rights of travellers, Professor Rolink will invite 400 or so of them to make camp right next to her own residence?

Didn't think so, the rights game is just one for armchair liberals, insulated as ever from the chaos and insanity of each and every decision they campaign for.