Damien Green

I really was trying to stay out of this, but with all the fuss I found this is a perfect demonstration of how our Lords and Masters really think of we the proles.

First off they vote on anti-terrorist measures that allow the police to stop, search, and basically invade our privacy and then they have the gall to complain when such powers are used against one of their own.

Secondly ID cards for all are still in the pipeline, but the talk is of having two separate systems, on for us and a ringfenced version for the 'important' people; the justification being that PC Plod is likely to go nosing around to find out about the Beckhams, but won't bother looking up his neighbours details. Of course if everyone's details were protected it would hinder the operational procedure of the police, MI5 etc. and as we all know people with money and power don't break the law [cough]

The fuss is simple to see - imagine if the police used these fancy powers to detain or lookup an MP, a newspaper editor, and a member of the general public; whose details would you see in the headlines the following day? How many cries of "How dare they" would ring back and forth, because like so many in power who frame our legal system the blind assumption is that none of that applies to them.

We're constantly patronised with the phrase "If you've nothing to hide you've nothing to fear"; perhaps someone should be parroting that back to Parliament.

In an amusing act of synchronicity Channel 4 showed Enemy of the State recently; now with Devil's Kitchen getting involved in sending out copies of 1984 to MPs, perhaps it could be followed up with this film on DVD?