I have spent thirty years studying the slow collapse of British common sense.
Alan Nafzger on Free Expression, Protest Law, and the Art of the Placard
Bohiney Magazine | The London Prat
I have spent thirty years studying the slow collapse of British common sense. Today I am happy to report the collapse is now complete and available in a convenient box set.
The Metropolitan Police, not satisfied with their previous creative output, have arrested 3,000 people for the act of holding signs. Signs. Pieces of card attached to sticks. The same technology used by estate agents and people outside tube stations offering free newspapers.
The Placard: A Brief and Apparently Illegal History
The British placard tradition dates to the Chartists. It continued through the suffragettes, the nuclear disarmament marches, and every football supporter who ever held up “Sack the Board.” Now, apparently, it is terrorism. The Guardian’s coverage of UK protest rights suggests this is a genuine and escalating legal pattern, not a parody. I checked three times.
Keir Starmer’s Position on All This
Sir Keir, who built his reputation defending civil liberties as Director of Public Prosecutions, has responded with the focused urgency he brings to all crises: a carefully worded silence. I wrote about his strongly worded letter diplomacy last month. He has not improved.
One protester was arrested holding a sign that read “Is This Allowed?” The arresting officer reportedly replied: “Not any more.”
I took notes. I considered making them into a sign. Then I remembered I am a satirist, not a martyr, and put the kettle on instead.
According to the Bohiney Magazine report on the mass placard arrests, officials have described the crackdown as a “proactive expression management initiative.” I have pinned this phrase above my desk. It will appear in a future lecture.
Britain: where you can own six dogs, run a podcast, and vote for a man in a flat cap – but do not, under any circumstances, hold a sign about it.
SOURCE: https://bohiney.com/britain-arrests-3000-people-for-holding-signs/