Another Country

Someone must have been telling lies about Damian G, because one day, without having done anything wrong, he was arrested by the police.

It was a bright, cold day in November, and the clocks were striking fourteen...

.

Comments

Anonymous said…
Sorry, I put a rather garbled post on you blog yesterday. As I heard the news whilst reading your blog.

Firstly I'm interested to see how this is going to be played out in the broadcast media BBC, SKY, ITV etc...

On the Andrew Neill show yesterday Chris Huhne stated that Green was only relaying information that was of public importance such as illegal immigrants working at the House of Commons. Diane Abbott main statement that the police can't be that stupid and I think did even mooted the idea that there was some higher involvement.

Second point why on earth did they need 8 members of the counter terrorism squad what did they expect him to do. Although this is not the first time the police have done something like this. They arrested the football manager Harry Redknapp in the earky hours of the mourning with several police men. When they could of questioned him during the day, he can hardly do a runner.

Another issue is that many MPs recieve leaks, my MP Norman Baker does and so do many other people. Apparently the leaks Green recieved were recieved by the BBC and other organisations. If people can'tinvestigate leak messages then that inhibits their ability to do their job.

And lastly due to the Mumbai bombings this is not headline news, when this is such an important issue.
Heresiarch said…
It sounds like a typical stunt arrest designed to gain maximum publicity. The Harry Redknapp parallel makes a lot of sense. Whether or not Jacqui Smith was informed before the arrest, what we have is a dangerously out of control, politicised police force with scant regard to constitutional form or proprieties, who have lost any notion of common-sense or proportionality. They probably imagined that they were doing the government a favour.

They told Boris! They told Boris but apparently didn't tell the minister whose department they were investigating? It makes no sense. It may, possibly, be technically true, but it still makes no sense.
Unknown said…
What fortuitous timing; this links in rather nicely with your previous post.

From the BBC: “The Metropolitan Police confirmed that Mr Green was arrested by members of its counter-terrorism command. It said the investigation was not terrorism related but did fall within the counter-terror unit's remit.”

Erm, in what way? Presumably it’s the same remit that allows the police to arrest an elderly man for daring to dissent at a Labour party conference or allows them to arrest peaceful protestors at about any demonstration you care to mention.

There is something very wrong happening in this country.
Anonymous said…
As has been pointed out already the information that was leaked was of importance. The fact that the house of commons was employing illegal immigrants should of been made public. The Government has no right to try and keep that secret, nor should the police be arresting an MP for raising this important issue.
Unknown said…
therealalekid, was that aimed at me? If so, I have no idea what you are on about since I consider it absolutely correct that this information was made public. I was questioning why the counter-terrorism force was involved and how it could possibly be in their "remit".
Anonymous said…
erm, that wasn't aimed at you ans am sorry if you thought they were. 'As has been pointed out' was just a statement. I agreed with the your points that you raised.
Unknown said…
therealalekid, thanks for the reply. I was just concerned that I had not been clear. It looks like others feel very concerned about this:

http://timesonline.typepad.com/politics/2008/11/damian-green--.html

http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/janet_daley/blog/2008/11/28/the_arrest_of_damian_green_is_a_dangerous_abuse_of_power_
Anonymous said…
It's all very weird, isn't it? At the risk of sounding like Perry Paranoid, maybe this is really an attempt by somebody in the fuzz to discredit Jacqui Smith? Or maybe the police really are stupid enough to think that such a ridiculous stunt serves their political masters' (or mistress') interests. Somehow.
Anonymous said…
Wasp_Box a lot of people are worried about and sorry about the cross wires.

Just seen the News at at 6 on the BBC and not sure what to make of it. David Cameron is standing by his MP, cross party support from the Lib Dems, some Labour MPs worried. Yet I found the tenor of the debate unsatisfactory. I know politicians should seem to be able to keep their cool, but perhaps Cameron should be seen to be very angry as he should be.

The only caveat id my belief that that the police can be that stupid. Harry Redknapp overreaction, Channel 4 under cover mosque when West Midlands police investigated the producers on the basis of community coshesion if I remember right. Then there were the fateful event at Stockwell tube station.

The police sadly have become too politicised.
Anonymous said…
I wonder, I wonder. I feel Valdemar's paranoia, especially since there was a not dissimilar situation in Scotland, where an incredibly heavy hand was used by the police against Tommy Sheridan -

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/7146907.stm

The inevitable result was that Sheridan got lots of sympathy, most valuably from people who can't stand him normally but agreed with him that the police were being thuggish. Sheridan claimed a media conspiracy against him after being charged, but in fact the media largely backed him in this instance.

What was actually happening there?

On the other hand, our rozzers can be very thuggish. I read a reliable account of Scottish police bursting in on a family of asylum seekers in the early hours of the morning, and have heard other equally reliable stories.

On balance, I'll skip the paranoid explanation and go for the likely one.
Anonymous said…
Damn I posted under Anonymous again sorry - I am too old for this!

Popular Posts