for a committee established by the Cameron ministry to plan spending cuts to reduce public debt. In March 2019, the European Research Group formed its own 'Star Chamber' to pass judgement on Theresa May's then proposed Brexit deal, and which recommended that MPs should not back it. On 29 December 2020, the ERG's Star Chamber gave a similar verdict on Boris Johnson's recently agreed EU–UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement, but on this occasion recommending that their members vote for it because the deal is "consistent with the restoration of UK sovereignty". Influence on the U.S. Constitution The historical abuses of the Star Chamber are considered some of the reasons, along with English common law precedent, behind the protections against compelled self-incrimination embodied in the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution. The meaning of "compelled testimony" under the Fifth Amendment – i.e., the conditions under which a defendant is allowed to "plead the Fifth" to avoid self-incrimination – is thus often interpreted via reference to the inquisitorial methods of the Star Chamber. As the U.S. Supreme Court described it, "the Star Chamber has, for centuries, symbolized disregard of basic individual rights. The Star Chamber not merely allowed, but required, defendants to have counsel. The defendant's answer to an indictment was not accepted unless it was signed by counsel. When counsel refused to sign the answer, for whatever reason, the defendant was considered to have confessed." Notes References Further reading 1487 establishments in England 1641 disestablishments in Europe 17th-century disestablishments in England Abuse of the legal system Former courts and tribunals in England and Wales Informal legal terminology Palace of Westminster Parliament of England Political metaphors referring to people Courts and tribunals established in 1487 Courts and tribunals disestablished in the 1640s