The National Council for Civil Liberties (NCCL) was founded in 1934, by Ronald Kidd, to defend ‘the whole spirit of British freedom'; after he had witnessed brutal police attacks at the 1932 Hunger Marches.

From its foundation it has worked to protect civil liberties and promote human rights. In the 1930s-1950s the key issues were the fight against fascism, fighting major miscarriages of justice and mental health reform.

In the 1960s-1980s the NCCL became more involved in equality; campaigning for women's rights and against race discrimination. In the 1990s-2000s they campaigned against the detention without charge of Iraqi nationals in the Gulf War. The Human Rights Act was passed in the late 1990s and the NCCL have used this to fight some landmark cases and the excesses of the ‘War on Terror'.

The National Council for Civil Liberties is now called Liberty and celebrated its 75th anniversary in 2009.