How modern Unionism works.

Make a joke about stoning a leftie. . .

Roger McKenzie, Unison's West Midlands regional secretary, said he had been inundated with complaints from city council workers outraged at Mr Compton's comments and he called on Mr Compton to resign from the council.

Destroy property and throw fire extinguishers at police officers. . .

We reject any attempt to characterise the Millbank protest as small, “extremist” or unrepresentative of our movement… We stand with the protesters, and anyone who is victimised as a result of the protest.’

 As with all authoritarian organisations it is one rule for you, one for them.

(I'll bet poor old Roger was shagged out after chasing round and browbeating all those people into complaining.)

The One That Knows He Has Nothing To Fear. . .

I've said it before, and I'll say it again. I have no beef with the police in general. To re-iterate, I know more than more fair share of police officers and in the main they are people I trust implicitly and I have an almost boundless respect for people who do a difficult job in the face of local and national management that frustrates the hell out of them on a daily basis, and a public which are becoming more hostile and mistrusting as each day passing.

The latter issue is connected very much to the first issue and is then amplified by the actions of officers who simply are not equipped emotionally or have the intelligence to do the job.

My protestations of support become increasingly untenable in the face of reports such as this:

When trainspotter Stephen White noticed some interesting engines, he wasted no time in taking pictures of them for his collection.

It was the start of a bizarre sequence of events involving midnight phone calls, police raids and even, it is claimed, suspected terrorism.

Really, how many more times do we have to go through this ridiculous charade? Yes, I will accept that a Murco oil depot would go bang in a very entertaining fashion and thus could be a target for a terrorist attack.

But, firstly, terrorists like to spread terror. Bombs going off in city centres cause more of a scare than a big bang at Milford Haven. Have no doubt that it would be an enormous bang, I imagine people in Bristol would hear it and say 'what the fuck was that', but it wouldn't create a great deal of terror.

Secondly, how shit a terrorist would you have to be, to be seen on a recce taking photos of a train. You'd be much better off hijacking one of the tankers and setting it up as it sat on the berth. It just doesn't stack up.

Stupid, stupid, stupid. Just use your heads, will you? Because if you don't we'll start living in a country where a ten year old girl will be handcuffed and locked in a cell for six hours.

The father of a 10-year-old girl who was arrested, handcuffed and locked in a cell for almost six hours has criticised police for being 'heavy-handed'.

Shannon Blake was apprehended by police and taken to a police station in the back of a van after she slapped a man who shouted at her in a park.

She then went through the ordeal of having a mug shot and finger-prints taken before she was locked in a tiny cell with just a bucket for a toilet.

Yeah, nice.

I will criticise the father who should have taught his daughter that you don't go up to a strange dog and start petting it, as you know nothing about the dog and what its reaction is likely to be. Ask the owner first, kids.

But really, is this treatment proportionate to the offence? Must every little infraction be treated in this fashion? Would the CPS run with it? Would most Magistrates approach this case with a feeling of enthusiasm? Or would they just say; 'get out of my courtroom, stop wasting my time, and you, young lady, bloody behave yourself'?

Would it not be best in a case such as this to escort the young lady home and explain to her parents that something untoward had happened? I'm not suggesting that we should return to the days of the policeman fetching the kid a clip around the ear, as recent evidence (see G20 protest) suggests that the track record ain't great. There has to be an application of what was once called 'common sense' but is now unfortunately 'rare sense'.

I despair. . .

The One That Wonders What Happens When The Police Break The Law. . .

An 84-year-old activist questioned under the Terrorism Act while wearing an anti-Tony Blair T-shirt believes the powers are "persecuting innocents".

Well, yes. Difficult to pick fault with anything the old boy says there.

John Catt, from Sussex, was protesting outside Brighton's Labour Party Conference in 2005 when he was stopped and searched under the 2000 act.

The Independent Police Complaints Commission found his arrest unlawful.

So, the IPCC said his arrest was unlawful, Sussex police's reaction?

The officer "believed in good faith that the stop and search was authorised by law".

Well, that's as maybe. Firstly, he was wrong. Secondly, where was the injury? Was anyone damaged, was anyone out of pocket, did anyone have property destroyed? No. Quite simply there was no need to make this arrest.

Isolated incident?

He was also put on the PNC with an 'of interest' marker. He was subsequently pulled over by an anti-terror unit on a trip to London when his car pinged on ANPR.

Isolated incident?

I posted the video the other day of the poor old boy being ejected from the Labour Party conference and getting similar treatment when he attempted to re-enter the building.

Isolated incident?

Alex Turner was arrested by Kent Police for being 'too tall' by all accounts (Cheers, OH).

Isolated incident?

A man was detained for taking a photograph of a police car.

Isolated incident?

Police confiscate crayons and toys at the Kingsnorth protest.

Isolated incident?

How many isolated incidents can we have before they cease to become isolated? I hate browbeating the police. I like them. I know more than my fair share of police officers, and those that I know would surprise me a great deal if they proved themselves to be anything but sensible, level-headed, committed individuals who want nothing beyond locking up bad guys.

Is it down to the target culture? Is it down to the politicisation of the senior ranks? Is it down to a small, but ever growing number of over zealous officers who want to exercise a feeling of power?

One thing that is clear, as these episodes increase and become more widely reported (the original article at the start of this posting is a lead story on the BBC down here this evening) trust in the police will erode. As trust erodes, more police officers will feel resentful, if not threatened. As that resent and threatened feeling expands, more people will be stopped, harrassed and slapped back into line, to prevent any action against the police on the street, and the erosion of trust is accelerated.

It must stop, and I'm afraid blood must be let. The officer that made the illegal arrest must lose his job. If he acts like that because an old man is wearing a T-shirt, will he taser a man for doing 10mph over the limit? Will he wrap his asp around the head of a shoplifter? Sorry, he has demonstrated he cannot be trusted with the authority given to him by US.

Senior officers must be called to account. It happens once, the Chief Constable gets a wrap on the knuckles and is told to make it clear this is not acceptable. It happens a second time, the C.C. finds his force subject to a review of all arrests under the Terrorism Act. It happends a third time, the sack. No pay-off. Gone. Take out the Inspector, Chief Inspector and Super if you have to. This ridiculous and insulting policing is just as bad as the old bent copper scenario. This is not why we have them.

The One That Is Shouting 'They Are Coming To Get You!'. . .

Well, I wrote yesterday about my connections with the fair town of Ashford. First it comes into the news because Clarkson unleashes his fury about the ridiculous 'shared space' scheme, and now the town is catapulted squarely into the headlines as local MP Damian Green has been arrested, for, well, as far as I can see, doing his job.

I have had cause to come across Damian Green on several occasions, and on every occasion I have found him to be a decent person. He has come out to bat for his constituents against the (Tory) local council on a couple of occasions and seen them off. He has broken with protocol to speak out on political issues which should be the preserve of the council, and he's been right to do so. He is that rarest of creatures, a front-bencher who is a good constituency MP. I've always found him to be a man of his word, I trust him a damn sight more than the vast majority of the other buggers in the House. OK, he's a Tory, but nobody's perfect.

So he seems to be involved in the release of details about the widespread employment of illegal immigrants in the 'security' (bouncer) industry. If that is the case, he was right to be so.

He seems to be involved in the release of details about the employment of an illegal as a cleaner in the House. If that is the case, he was right to be so.

He seems to be involved in the release of details about Labour rebels voting against 42 days. If that is the case, he was right to be so.

He seems to be involved in the release of details about a letter sent by the Home Secretary warning that a recession could lead to an increase in crime. If that is the case, he was right to do so.

That last point is the real indicator. He's pissed off Jacqui Smith. She's come to get him. She doesn't care. Fuck me.

Jesus.

If she's so brazen about going after a front bench MP, she'll not give a flying fuck about coming after me and you. Thank the Lord she's defending a majority of only 2,716.

This is Trotsky, dead in a Mexico City hotel room. This is the Star Chamber, silencing sedition. This is Charles I, kicking down the doors to Parliament.

This is also a declaration of war, against the practices of the House, against all parties in opposition and against anyone who dares to ask what is being done in their name.

I'd love to know what was said to the Magistrate to grant these search warrants. I'd love to know how far up the food chain the person was leaning on him or her to authorise the warrant. Justice Secretary? Home Secretary? Lord Chancellor? Prime Minister?

Am I being cynical? Is this a concerted effort to discredit all parties? First the BNP, now this, I hope the LimpDems, SNP, Plaid and UKIP are looking over their shoulders.

Opposition politicians. Enemies of the State.

Stalin, Mugabe, Brown, Mao, Hoxha.

Doesn't the name sit nicely in that list?

Cameron, pull your bloody head out of your bloody arse and make a fucking fuss, won't you? I am more than a little scared now.

The One That Knows This Is Going To Happen Again And Again. . .

It is now silly season. Unfortunately this doesn't mean that I don't have to be in the office until October. This season means that we'll see plenty of stories like this over the next few weeks:

A passer-by was questioned under terrorism laws for taking a picture of a police car he thought was illegally parked.

Apparently the police officers considered that this act represented a 'security threat.'

God how I hate that phrase. Security reasons - the new mantra of totalitarianism. Are we honestly, truthfully, expected to believe that some guy taking a photo of a panda car is a threat to national security? We all know what they look like, they can be seen on the news, in the paper at any time. I have a colleague who, for reasons best known to himself, is considering making a reference book about police cars. Images of cop cars are not hard to come by.

Security threat? Give me a break. You've felt this guy's collar because he has dared to question what the police were doing parked in a bus lane. When people start being arrested for questioning the actions of the police, we are in deep, deep, deep trouble.

The mealy mouthed response of the Super is just as worrying. Why not just put your hands up and say 'The officers over reacted. I've spoken with them about it and we will try to avoid this in the future.' Because the thing is I'm sure that behind closed doors, the officers concerned were told to stop being so bloody stupid.

A number of my recent posts might suggest I am anti-police. This is not true. I work quite closely with the police and recognise that the vast, vast majority do a good job under almost impossible conditions and incompetent management. Managers and a few front-line officers would do well to remember the Peelian Principles.

Can anyone explain why we used to have a Police Force that served the community but now have a Police Service that serve nothing but the Party tractor production figures?