Police
Rolf Harris: accused, but not charged.
I always thought there was something a little bit sinister about that Jake The Peg character. With what he refers to as his ‘extra leg’, m’lud. And then, ladies and… Continue reading
59 Comments
The Philpott case is horrific; so is the attempt to hijack it for any political purpose
The sorry truth of the Philpott case is that almost nothing can be learnt from it. Everything would be so much simpler if there were clear public policy conclusions that… Continue reading
56 Comments
Scotland’s War on Clothes: Be Careful What You Wear
Welcome to Scotland, a land where freedoms of expression and other liberties are treated so seriously that the police and prosecuting authorities would never dream of monitoring and judging the… Continue reading
79 Comments
Will ‘plod-gate’ make voters more sceptical of class-based political attacks?
The Andrew Mitchell story has always been about class. If all Mitchell was alleged to have said was ‘you supposed to f’ing help us’ there would have been some clucking… Continue reading
131 Comments
If they can frame a Chief Whip, they can frame anyone
Lord Denning was perhaps the most beloved judge of the 20th century. He even inspired a Lord Denning Appreciation Society. But I and many others found something sinister behind his… Continue reading
113 Comments
When will all this stop?
In a dawn raid today police swooped on children’s legend This Old Man for alleged sexual assault against countless toddlers and took him to a police station. “We have several… Continue reading
88 Comments
UKIP is not a libertarian party - Spectator Blogs
I’m sure, as James says, that the idea of some kind of Tory-UKIP non-aggression pact will not go away. But that’s because many Tory backbenchers are remarkably stupid. Proponents of… Continue reading
277 Comments
Rotherham’s ‘political commissars’ reinforce the need for a free press
‘Clearly she has morphed somewhere in her career from social worker to political commissar.’ These are the words of Minette Marrin, writing of the social worker at the centre of… Continue reading
111 Comments
Abu Qatada walks free at our expense
Just last month I wrote about the inverted priorities of our judiciary and police who busy themselves with the arrest of individuals for things posted on social networking sites. Earlier… Continue reading
13 Comments
David Cameron tries to drum up interest in the Police and Crime Commissioner elections
David Cameron spent yesterday campaigning for Conservative Police and Crime Commissioner candidates in Bedfordshire and Leicestershire. The visits, though, received scant national attention: the only coverage I’ve spotted so far… Continue reading
23 Comments
Lancashire police taser a blind man: he's lucky to be alive. Others will not be so fortunate. - Spectator Blogs
How hard can it be to tell the difference between a samurai sword and a white cane? Relatedly, how difficult is to be accepted as the kind of person qualified… Continue reading
43 Comments
Andrew Mitchell lives to thrash his way through another day
Andrew Mitchell spent the whole of Home Office questions on the front bench, nodding sagely as both Damian Green and Theresa May were repeatedly asked to condemn his behaviour outside… Continue reading
16 Comments
Yvette Cooper fails her Peel history lesson
The Labour party’s love-in with great Tory statesmen continues. Yesterday Miliband went all Disraelian; today Yvette Cooper, the shadow home secretary, has raised the spectre of Robert Peel in an attempt… Continue reading
12 Comments
South Yorkshire Police kick back at Kelvin MacKenzie
The coppers have fought back following Kelvin MacKenzie’s revelation, contained in this week’s Spectator, that his lawyers are seeking an apology from South Yorkshire Police over the Hillsborough scandal. South… Continue reading
7 Comments
Kelvin MacKenzie unleashes his lawyers on South Yorkshire Police
Lawyers acting for Kelvin MacKenzie have written to South Yorkshire Police seeking an apology for the circumstances that have led to his ‘personal vilification for decades’. Writing in tomorrow’s Spectator,… Continue reading
202 Comments
Who Cares About Andrew Mitchell's Boorishness? - Spectator Blogs
I’ve avoided commenting on Andrew Mitchell’s problems with police officers and gates because, damn it, the whole affair has been saturated in so much stupidity that it scarcely seemed to… Continue reading
15 Comments
Andrew Mitchell’s Gate-gate: haven’t we all been there?
All right, he’s eaten dirt. Andrew Mitchell, Chief Whip, has now apologised to the Prime Minister and apologised profusely to the policeman he may or may not have called a… Continue reading
110 Comments
Why we should trust trial by jury
The acquittal of PC Simon Harwood on Thursday for the manslaughter of Ian Tomlinson provoked a strong reaction in the press. Leading the charge, the Daily Mail’s headline summed up the… Continue reading
61 Comments
Miliband and monopolies
Ed Miliband used his speech this morning on policing to attack the shambles on Olympic security staffing created by G4S. That was a sensible thing for an opposition leader to… Continue reading
28 Comments
4 years to bury the ghosts of Bloody Sunday?
It has just been announced that the police are going to launch an investigation into the Bloody Sunday deaths. It comes after the Police Service Northern Ireland and the Public… Continue reading
6 Comments