Today I was stopped in my Smart car on the Charing Cross Road, Central London, by the Metropolitan Police. The officer told me this was under Anti Terrorism legislation.
I may have terrorised the blogosphere at times, but I would never have guessed it was that evident from my appearance or car. My name and date of birth were taken down in triplicate. Then he wanted to know my height - “for intelligence”. I refused to give my height (it’s a bit of a sore point as I am smallish).
Fortunately I wasn’t arrested on the spot. Next I had to open the boot of my car. I breathed a sigh of relief as it wasn’t filled with five tons of semtex this time around – but my box with out-of-date In Touches drew a lot of attention. “Suspect was in possession of inflammatory political material” must now be in my file at the Anti-Terrorism Branch of Scotland Yard. I lost ten minutes of precious time. They didn’t take a DNA sample though, so I’m not in that database yet.
I see random police searches inCentral London all the time. They are an invasion of our civil liberties. They are a waste of police time. Thousands are inconvenienced without any explanation given. Does anybody know why? Is it indeed, as Lord Carlisle (LibDem), the independent reviewer of anti-terrorism law suggested back in June, to have a racial balance in police statistics? Is it done in the hope of catching terrorists by accident? Why not search every house, office and chicken coop in the land while they are at it? Any other guesses?
Boris, can’t you stop this lunacy?
