You
will probably recognise the picture from the front page of yesterday’s
newspapers. If you don’t, clicking for the larger version may help. It's our
Prime Minister and many of his counterparts from around the world supposedly
marching in front of two million or so French citizens demonstrating their right
to free speech following the appalling massacres in their city. Except they weren’t
marching with those two million, they were posing in a side street for the
benefit of the cameras. For security reasons it probably made good sense.
But what a bunch of hypocrites! With only a couple of exceptions the countries
represented would lock up anyone who published something like Charlie Hebdo. In Saudi Arabia they give bloggers 1,000 lashes, in Iran they hang them,
in Britain they imprison them and
in Bexley they threaten arrest.
In one infamous case false charges were brought against a Bexley blogger.
I
was even taken aside by a senior Bexley detective in the presence of my MP and given
a warning about referring to the leader of Bexley council as The Fat Controller (from
the Thomas the Tank Engine books).
In Scotland the police announced that they monitor Twitter for anyone who might
cause offence. Have they really got so little to do?
David Cameron is one big hypocrite and he is far from being alone.
Ironically James Cleverly
is in Braintree as I write to see if they will have him
as their Parliamentary Candidate for May 2015. He’s another champion of free
speech. He told Elwyn Bryant some years ago that Bexley is Bonkers was “well out
of order”. I hope he got the job, it would be good to see the back of him as
Bexley and Bromley’s London Assembly Member.
P.S. It would appear that Braintree was suitably suckered.