Section 76 of the latest Counter Terrorism Act came into force today, the latest in a long line of laws introduced by this freedom-limiting Government with the worthy intention of protecting us from bad people.
And what does this section of this law say?
It creates a new offence (this Government has created nearly 4,000 new offences since 1997) of "eliciting, publishing or communicating information" relating to members of the
Armed Forces, intelligence services and police, which is "likely to be
useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism".
Professional photographers held a protest about the law at Scotland Yard earlier today as they fear that the new law could be used to hinder them as they go about doing their job: after all, policeman are present at many events that press photographers and film crews capture for their audiences, whether they be football matches, scrums outside courthouses or indeed protests themselves.
And as for members of the Armed forces, what about those wanting to take snaps at a display of pageantry like Trooping the Colour, or capture a relative's passing out parade on camera, for instance?
The Government would have us believe that all the laws it introduces in the name of protecting us are well-intentioned, but there is an increasing tally of examples of anti-terror laws being used against decent law-abiding folk going about their private business (think Walter Wolfgang, the heckler at Labour conference, or Maya Evans, the woman who recited the names of the Iraq War dead at the Cenotaph).
How long before a tourist gets stopped for photographing the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace?
