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It has not been a good week for London's police or their ultimate boss, Home Secretary Jacqui Smith.
Today there is fresh evidence of police officers concealing their identities, as at the G20 demonstration.
Meanwhile, new details of the Damian Green fiasco, where the Conservative immigration spokesman was arrested in connection with leaked documents, cast both the Metropolitan Police and
Ms Smith in a deeply unflattering light. Police and ministers urgently need to learn the lessons of these affairs.
Today we highlight the case of an officer at the Tamil protests in Parliament Square last night wearing a uniform without shoulder identity numbers, as required by police regulations.
Similar footage has appeared of officers covering their numbers at the G20 demonstration. Met Commissioner Sir Paul Stephenson has now ordered an inquiry into police tactics but he should be aware of the deep disquiet this kind of behaviour is causing. The police have appeared secretive as well as violent and bullying.
The Green affair is no less troubling. Mr Green today reveals how officers told him he faced life imprisonment for leaking documents about immigration irregularities, a ludicrous threat.
As yesterday's statement by the Director of Public Prosecutions made clear, the documents were in no way a threat to national security, nor even secret — facts then covered up by civil servants.
It is the bullying tactics and intolerance of criticism central to both these affairs that leave the nastiest taste. Ms Smith must have been aware that national security was not at risk and that Mr Green's arrest was merely a heavy-handed response to the Government being embarrassed.
Speaker Michael Martin is now under renewed pressure for his handling of the affair, having allowed police to search Mr Green's office. We need assurances that this will not happen again — and that the police are under control.
Down the Tube
THE OUTGOING head of London Underground, Tim O'Toole, makes the alarming prediction in an interview with this newspaper today that the Tube Lines maintenance consortium could fall apart. That could happen if Tube Lines fails to deliver the crucial Jubilee line resignalling project by 31 December. Because the operations of the Tube's other private-sector consortium, Metronet, have already been taken over by London Underground, following its collapse in 2007, this would amount to the wholesale renationalisation of Tube maintenance.
That outcome would be bad news. Mr O'Toole has already confirmed that tunnel cooling, congestion relief measures and more lifts will probably have to wait because other tasks have gone over budget. Tube Lines has said that the Jubilee, Northern and Piccadilly signalling upgrades, which should increase capacity, are likely to cost £1.4 billion more than it budgeted for.
Like this newspaper, Mr O'Toole blames the inherent flaws in Gordon Brown's Public Private Partnership, the system of 30-year contracts under which the Tube is being refurbished by the private sector. He says the gains PPP was supposed to deliver did not materialise. As passengers contemplate further delays to promised improvements, the Prime Minister should make Tube upgrades a big part of his public works strategy to tackle the recession. Otherwise, if Tube Lines goes the way of Metronet next year, he risks being forced to admit the outright failure of his cherished PPP strategy.
Sing, Susan, sing
Susan Boyle's transformation from unlikely Britain's Got Talent contestant to international sensation is a delight. Miss Boyle, a dumpy, middle-aged churchgoer, was cruelly mocked until she delivered a stunning rendition of I Dreamed a Dream. Now a YouTube hit, she has been invited to sing on Oprah Winfrey. This underdog's dream gladdens us all.
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Smith is bringing South London into disrepute. She can not be Home Secretary. That office is to uphold the law, not be used to abuse it. She falsely used police to intimidate opposition MP's who were revealing her blunders. Journalists are sacked on the spot for fake expenses. She claims a back room in Peckham is her 'main residence', and porn for her husband. Sorry but that is all so nasty she has to go, and as far away as possible.
- Standard, Croydon UK, 17/04/2009 16:09
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Commissioner Sir Paul Stephenson has just been appointed and now has a wonderful opportunity in front of him. He can show courage and leadership and embrace the moment by taking clear, decisive action to confirm the the Metropolitan Police Service fully backs the idea of 'policing by consent' and that he intends to demonstrate that by ensuring that the police are fully accountable to the Home Secretary, the Metropolitan Police Authority (headed by Mayor Boris Johnson) and the general public. By working closely with the IPCC he can show that the police are subject to an independent review of their activities.
At the same time, he will need to immediately deal with internal affairs at the Met. The most important problem is the Management Board, he and John Yates are the only two permanent police appointments, the other four 'Acting' positions, including his own Deputy, must be filled with experienced and capable police on a permanent basis.
He can then ensure that his direct orders, for example that police must be identifiable when in uniform, are followed immediately, and discipline any officer who does not comply. The review of crowd control tactics can follow in due course.
Despite recent events, the police are supported by the majority of Londoners, who recognise that they do a difficult and dangerous job, but he must act promptly and decisively before this goodwill goes.
- Manny Goldstein, London, UK, 17/04/2009 12:45
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