Re: British police finally pushback against policing tweets

On Sep 3, 2025 at 12:14:17 PM PDT, "Rhino" <no_offline_contact@example.com>
wrote:

On 2025-09-03 1:04 PM, BTR1701 wrote:

 On Sep 3, 2025 at 6:29:56 AM PDT, "Rhino" <no_offline_contact@example.com>
 wrote:
 

 Sir Mark Rowley, the head of the Metropolitan Police (which polices
 London) has pushed back against the use of the police to deal with
 offensive tweets in the wake of the arrest of comedy writer Graham
 Linehan (best known for creating the Father Ted sitcom). Linehan was
 arrested at Heathrow Airport by 5 armed police (most police in the UK
 are NOT armed) upon arriving from a trip to the US.
 
 
 
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/sep/03/met-police-chief-calls-for-review-of-law-after-graham-linehan-arrest
 
 Even Prime Minister Keir Starmer is objecting to the arrest of Linehan
 according to this video clip from a British morning show:
 
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pqDxAhLtY9U [8 minutes]
 
 I think the government and senior leaders of the institutions are
 *FINALLY* starting to wake up and realize how excessive they've been in
 policing free speech. At least I *want* to believe that.
 
 Then again, knowing how politicians do what they do, I am fully prepared
 to believe that Rowley and Starmer are merely trying to save face by
 *pretending* to be aghast at what has happened. They'll confer behind
 close doors, issue a vague and half-hearted statement about what will
 sound like changes to their enforcement policies and then go on pretty
 much as they have been doing.
 
 Clearly, we'll have to let this play out and see if anything substantive
 will actually be done. I'm not holding my breath but I would be
 delighted if they actually restore freedom of speech in the UK.

 
 Not so fast! The cops are going after kids now if they're caught showing too
 much patriotism.
 
 https://x.com/TRobinsonNewEra/status/1963177418337796545
 

This is obviously massively wrong, no question about it. But I'm going
to cut them a bit of slack here. I think it's clear that authority
trickles down from on high and the cops on the street are only following
whatever policies their bosses have enunciated.

There comes a point where you just refuse to follow those orders if those
orders contravene the laws and principles of your society.

What I don't get is why so many cops are willing to go along with this. They
better than anyone else can see how native Brits are being treated and how
they're losing their nation. Why would they participate? I would have expected
mass refusals to go along with it and/or resignations. I certainly wouldn't
participate in the destruction of my country for a middling paycheck.

The Great Ship of State
can't turn on a dime, even if it wants to, so if the head of the
Metropolitan Police is only now just starting to push back a little,
it's going to take a minute for a new policing strategy to be developed
and then communicated to the lower ranks. In the meantime, the rank and
file are going to follow their existing policies.
 
Of course I may just be naive in thinking Rowley or Keir Starmer are
even slightly sincere in thinking things have gone too far. I'm cynical
enough to doubt that the scales fell off both men's eyes and they now
see sense due to a single incident. But maybe, just maybe, there is a
smidgen of truth to the idea that they see things have gone too far and
will work to dial back the police overreach - and the two tier policing!
- to restore some freedom to their country. A guy can dream can't he?