by Paul Birch, spiked
A West Midlands officer could barely keep a straight face when he turned up at the house of an anti-migrant protester.
Among the maelstrom of allegations about two-tier policing, and a justice system where ethnicity still seems to be very much a factor in what sort of justice you can expect to receive, there has been a flash of reassurance for those longing for a return to common sense and fairness.
This came last week, when two officers from West Midlands Police knocked on the door of a suspected ‘anti-migrant’ protester in Coventry. Speaking through the intercom, one policeman tells the resident that they have been sent to deliver a leaflet ahead of an upcoming protest in nearby Nuneaton, where a child was allegedly raped by an asylum seeker.
Yet, in a surprising twist, the police officer apologised to the resident and described the purpose of his visit as a ‘load of bollocks’. He then went on to say:
‘You’ve got freedom of speech and there are no issues at all. I apologise and it’s really woeful. It’s not something I agree with, but I’ve been asked to do it. Just to drop a leaflet about being involved in a protest. It sounds bad, but it is what it is.’