Police states
The story of the treatment of Nicky Samengo-Turner at the hands of the Metropolitan police is on the cover of the Spectator, and a shorter version the comments pages of today's Sunday Telegraph.For those who can't click on a link, Samengo-Turner consented to having his car searched by the police who were training other policeman. Whilst searching they found an illegal weapon (he disputes that it is illegal), arrested, put in the cells, generally harassed for a bit, charged with carrying an offensive weapon, before his lawyer arrived and he was bailed. The case continues.
We should note that we haven't yet heard the Met Police's side of the story, and they seem confident that he was carrying an illegal weapon. Nevertheless you hear a lot about young men in London being "stopped and searched", most of whom aren't carrying illegal weapons, and I am pleased that the S.Telegraph and the Spectator, traditionally pretty authoritarian newspapers, are finally giving it the attention it deserves.
Given this, it would be as well that next time Michael Howard, who has pledged to stop the Police having to keep a record of people that they stop, makes a speech about 'political correctness gone mad', he remembers that potential Tory voters get stopped and searched too. Oh and of course David Blunkett should resign.
posted by Matthew @ 11/28/2004 11:48:00 AM
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