Isn't this what the opposition is supposed to do?
Although Winston Churchill himself, got a civil servant, into either bother or a coffin depending on who you believe in his re-ascent to the admirality.
Counter-terror police arrest Tory frontbencher
Shadow immigration minister Damian Green was arrested and questioned by Metropolitan police for nine hours yesterday. His home and office in Kent were searched along with an address in West London. Green's office at the House of Commons was also searched. It is believed the investigation is linked to the leaking of …
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Friday 28th November 2008 13:00 GMT Paul
We really need a new government
I don't care which party wins (but lets face it, the Libs stand no chance), but we need this government out.
Long governments like this are a bad thing, no matter which party is in. The civil service get too close to the government, and the executive agencies like the police start getting political.
I can't help thinking that a bitter Ian Blair is having one last thrash out at the Tory party before he gets kicked out. I can't imagine this happening without his say-so. The earlier he is gone, the better, he's become an obvious Labour man, and that's a bad thing for any policemen.
Besides, all of this stuff should have been open information anyway. The only excuse for this kind of secrecy is to cover up incompetence. I don't see why we should have to file FOI requests for information that should be public by default.
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Friday 28th November 2008 13:00 GMT Richard
It's about time!
In a perverse way I'm rather glad that this has happened, not because I know anything about whether he's done anything or not, but because it's about time that Parliament realised that _anyone_ can be affected by the security climate that the Government has set up over the last few years. Many in the Commons have either been woefully complacent or too easily swayed by rhetoric along the lines of "It's only bad people that we're targetting". Unfortunately, I suspect that the Government's uber-loyalists consider the Tories to be in the bad people category so it may well have no effect. One can but hope.
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Friday 28th November 2008 13:00 GMT Anonymous Coward
Last One Out Turn Off The Lights
Looks like Gordon has been an excellent student of Tony - UK democracy and justice is well and truly dead.
We have Metropolitan police officers roaming the Tube shooting people in the head with no fear of repercussions, constant lies and doublespeak from from NuLabour and a compliant media going along with it all.
Anyone able to leave the country should do so now - before they are imprisoned in our decaying, squalid and over-crowded jails for though crimes or failing to hand over their Identity card to the taser carrying thought police.
Frankly Zimbabwe may look more attractive in the long run if any of this stuff continues.
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Friday 28th November 2008 13:00 GMT yossarianuk
doh - should have read (must be all the mindbending weed....)
When the Nazis came for the foreign students,
I remained silent;
I was not a foreign student.
When they locked up the immigrant workers,
I remained silent;
I was not an immigrant worker.
When they came for the conservative mp's,
I did not speak out;
I was not a conservative mp.
When they came for me,
there was no one left to speak out.
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Friday 28th November 2008 13:00 GMT Duncan Hothersall
Politicising the police
Under Ian and Tony Blair the MPS became more politicised than it has been for many years, with the Commissioner habitually commenting on political issues such as approaches to terrorism, and politicians holding up those opinions when they suited them. Ian Blair was himself hoist by this petard when he was effectively forced to resign by Boris Johnson, and act which itself ratcheted up the politicisation of the MPS.
All of which makes it very difficult to accept that any MPS actions involving politicians are not tainted in some way. This is very sad, because the law, and long-standing convention, are very clear on the separation of powers here. We should be able to implicitly trust that an action such as this is completely independent of political interference. That we cannot does great harm to British justice. More importantly, it gives the Tories justification for grandstanding, which is a bloody shame in itself.
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Friday 28th November 2008 13:00 GMT Anonymous Coward
Just goes to explain why other countries have parliamentary immunity
This puts in the right perspective of what level of Democracy the Union of Soviet British Republics really has to offer. This is a classic example of one of the reasons why parliamentary immunity is part of the constitution in all civilised countries.
Joseph Vissarionovich Brown would be very happy I bet.
Me coat, time to pack that suitcase and immigrate.
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Friday 28th November 2008 13:00 GMT Richard
Over-reaction?
I don't think so. Why should MPs be given more leniency than more conventional criminal bastards?
"Honestly officer, I don't how it happened. Since your lovely phone call, telling me you'd like a chat, I seem to have accidentally drilled holes in my hard disk. Where can I put my face."
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Friday 28th November 2008 13:05 GMT Chris G
How to morph Metropolitan Police into STASI
Since the current lot have been in power the various police forces have consistently been allowed to usurp and assume more and more power for themselves along with a number of other government agencies.
Goebbles in his diaries during the Second World War noted that the British Public were able to tolerate an enormous amount of limitations to their freedom that were introduced by their government, he also noted that when the British public had had enough they were to be feared. Wacky Jaqui and the nazis at ACPO should take note, if you really piss off the population and they decide to take action, you'll need more than thirty thousand tasers to stop them and if you start shooting them you may as well kiss your arse goodbye. If we had a constitution what the cops have just done would be unconstitutional, which is why no government will implement a British Constitution.
The whole thing sounds suspiciously like a quiet word being said here or there to set things in motion to intimidate this trouble making MP. The technical term for it is Smith/Brownian motion.
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Friday 28th November 2008 13:05 GMT Anonymous Coward
"Ein Volk, ein Reich, ein Gordon!"
Is our Great Leader trying to silence the opposition, using pliable/jobsworth civil servants and convenient laws to do his bidding? Surely not....
I, for one, welcome our great Scottish overlord (before he launches his Night of the Long Claymores).....
AC - 'cause I'm scared of looking over my shoulder for the NuLab Gestapo.
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Friday 28th November 2008 13:05 GMT Anonymous Coward
Were policies and procedures followed?
Fingerprinted? DNA sampled? Or is that bit optional for MPs?
Looks like revenge for the Blair/Levy thing. The Great Helmsman loves putting the knife in like that and reckons he can get away with it, what with saving the world and all.
Things are getting a bit Cavaliers and Roundheads IMO, the Dear Leader may be right but he's definitely repulsive.
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Friday 28th November 2008 13:05 GMT John Savard
New Labor
When I first saw a newspaper article on this, I anticipated that this was the sort of general news item that might appear here. It certainly is shocking to see calling attention to the failings of the government of the day being equated with terrorism, and I should hope that this will cause sufficient embarassment to lead to the charges being dropped promptly.
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Friday 28th November 2008 13:05 GMT Trevor Watt
MPs are not above the law.
I know someone who was passed a leaked document, he then passed it to his boss, an MP. The MP told the police and my acquaintance went to jail for passing the document.
So if (and it is IF) the honorable gentleman has passed restricted information outside of the privileges offered to him in the house then he should have to face the law. MPs can not automatically be exempt.
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Friday 28th November 2008 13:05 GMT Tony
They're coming for you
On the Beeb, they noted that Gordo refuses all knowledge of the matter, but that the Met state they had spoken to the Cabinet Office. We have 2 scenarios; he is lying and knew all about it, or he has no control over his own staff. Either way, it is a matter of some considerable concern.
The situation is now getting worse by the day. We are (technically at least) still a free country, not a police state; but with all of these little erosions of our liberty, it is not too difficult to see a time when we will more worried about the authorities and their hold over us, than we would be about any other potential threat.
How long do you think it will be before they have a member of the thought police based in the El Reg office, moderating our comments to make sure we don't say anything that is not approved?
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Friday 28th November 2008 13:05 GMT Thomas Baker
There is no law anymore.
Anarchy rules in the UK. The police need to have their powers seriously curbed, it's been building up for a few years now. If Cameron is so angry about it, why doesn't he make a manifesto pledge to regress police powers back to pre-2001? Or at least a thorough review and shake-down of all their new powers.
Also, there's no way NuLabour politicos didn't know about this, they almost certainly ordered it. Jacqui Smith, does she have a penchant for shoes because she reminds me of someone...
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Friday 28th November 2008 13:20 GMT Hollerith
In a police state...
Government does not have to request harassment; the police understand their masters and act accordingly.
These parties are no better than each other. I always think a frequent change of governement, to prevent any party 'nesting in' and getting corrupted by power, is a good idea. Keep them on their toes, keep them from the idea that they are the 'better party' and more fit to rule, and stop those comfy 'alliances' forming. I think it also stops governments that have run out of juice from flailing around seeking more things to do, i.e. ID cards, national databases, etc. If you think you have only five years to make your mark, you don't undertake such vote-losing nonsense.
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Friday 28th November 2008 13:20 GMT Anonymous Coward
The definition of terrorist
... has been on the slide for decades. Even with that in mind, I would love to hear how leaking embarrassing stories could be related in any way to terrorism. Was there some other, less-well-publicised leak that included a map of the sewers under Westminster or where they hide the confit-de-canard supply for the parliamentary fallout shelter?
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Friday 28th November 2008 13:20 GMT Richard Kay
Junior cock up or senior conspiracy ?
This appears to me that a decision was made by a police officer which should have been referred to and considered at a very much higher level than where I hope this decision was made. If this decision was made at an appropriately high level then it represents a direct and considered attack on the democratic process, and comparisons with Robert Mugabe's approach are relevant. If, as I hope, it was made at a more junior level, then the police officer who made this decision appears to have been clueless about how politics work in a democratic country.
As a Lib Dem I feel I can speak on this without anyone thinking I have an axe to grind in favour either of the Labour government or the Tory official opposition. This one is about the ability of Members of Parliament to be able to go about the job we elect them to do without interference by the government whom they are responsible for holding to account.
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Friday 28th November 2008 13:20 GMT JohnG
Let me get this straight...
The police (at the behest of their bosses at the Home Office) have arrested an opposition MP for doing his job: demonstrating how the minister and the same public officials at the Home Office have failed to do their jobs properly and have then sought to hide the facts from voters that pay their salaries.
UK employers who employ illegals get substantial fines (10K per illegal) - does this mean we can look forward to Jackie Smith paying fines for the illegals working in government establishments?
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Friday 28th November 2008 13:20 GMT Anonymous Coward
Cherchez la femme
And who pops up like the proverbial weasel? Whacky Jacqui Smith, hiding this time behind her civil servants.
What a cunning stunt - the Tories cannot express much more than "concern" without seemingly appearing soft on crime, such is the lack of education among the Great Unwashed that it does not know the difference between a pediatrician and a pedophile, and assumes arrest means criminally guilty.
If knowing something They would not like you knowing is going to result in this treatment, no-one is safe anymore. We all now know that Whacky Jacqui knew things. We also all now know that she finds it easier to set the police on someone in a position to challenge her about those matters, than concoct an excuse, however lame. And this woman is Home Secretary...?
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Friday 28th November 2008 13:20 GMT Jimmy
Jackanory, Jacquinory, tell me a story.
Once upon a time in a land beset by evil terrorists - or MPs, as they were once known - there dwelt a beautiful princess whose wisdom and knowledge surpassed the collective intellect of the whole planet. Such was her popularity that she required a security cordon to protect her from importuning citizens who begged her to sprinkle them with her magic identity tokens. Possession of one of these tokens guaranteed immunity from, among other things, alien abduction, sexually transmitted diseases, pornographers, beggars, foreigners, bankers, wankers,.and sexual predators of all persuasions.
Okay, okay kids, I lied. She wasn't really a princess, she was a bitter feminist bigot who suffered from delusions of grandeur and couldn't even scratch her own arse without direction from a policy advisor.
Jacquinory, Jacquinory...................
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Friday 28th November 2008 13:20 GMT b
jeez, where are we?
...stalinist russia?
that's disgusting.
what would he have done if he knew the police wanted to speak to him, run away to another country?
the biggest 'threat to our freedoms' is not the mythical "al queda", but our own police and government!
cheers,
bill
p.s. stuff and nonsense: http://www.eupeople.net/forum
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Biting the hand that feeds IT
