Photography Is A Criminal Offence

Have you tried taking a photograph recently? It seems that under section 44 of the Terrorism Act the police have powers to willy-nilly search anyone they like without there being any evidence to suppose that an offence is about to be committed. They can only do this in areas that have been designated as ones where such searches should - for reasons of anti-terrorism - take place. An area will be designated only if the person making the designation believes that there are grounds for doing so. In yet another Kafkaesque scenario dreamt up by the useless Blair government, the designated areas are kept secret. So any individual can be stopped and searched without their knowing that they are in a designated area. In the London area these stop and search powers are being used to stop people from taking photographs - presumably on the grounds that such photographers are surveying the area prior to organising a bombing or similar incident. The over-zealous police seem ill-advised on the limitations of the act and are using the powers indiscriminately. A photographer taking a picture of Mikes Plaice - a fish and chip shop in Chatham, Kent - was approached and ordered to delete the said photograph. The situation is quite absurd - yet no-one in government seems to realise this. Presumably, any individual who objected to being questioned and searched in an area that may or may not have been designated could be arrested and imprisoned without charge for 42 days without either him or his lawyers being told why?

How is it decided who should be stopped and searched? It seems that they have stopped and searched Lord West, the Security Minister. Was this a stunt, a piece of lunacy or is the whole thing just crackers? At least Lord West was not carrying a camera or he could have been in real trouble.

What are the qualifications for being a minister these days?

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