Astounding. I'm not sure they even need a warrant from a judge for that sort of thing (though they should), but they are going to 'consult' some self-appointed local politicians, who conceivably might have interests in their targets. The idea that "communities" are not happy unitary families but have feuds and rivalries surpasses the understanding of the Met.

The Catholic Church isn't quite the right analogy - a board made up of the Secretary of The Irish Club in Sloane Square, a bloke from the Gaelic Sports Association, someone from the London Irish Centre, and one of those (strangely evasive about their actual policies) Irish Freedom Movement people, is more like it.

I'm minded to drop a line to an acquaintance on the Gypsy Council straight away and suggest they lobby for the same arrangement.

The Catholic Church isn't quite the right analogy

I was just trying to make a similarly gonzo analogy... but yes, the Catholic Church in Britain had no involvement with, nor was an apologist for, Irish terrorism in the UK.

This sort of craziness is where the collectivist mindset gets you, it seems.

Any hope this is a fiendishly clever MI5 (6?) counter-terrorism operation?

One could only dream, John, but it is PC run amok, as usual.

that sound you hear is Churchill turning over in his grave.

So by the same ilk, surely the now famed Inspector Yates should be consulting with the Jewish Board of Deputies before arresting such Labour-supporting luminaries as Lord Levy? Perhaps we can also see the CBI or IoD consulted before arrests of businessmen by the Serious Fraud Office - especially given that Blair and Reid don't seem to have a problem trampling over any 'rights' of the Natwest 3, say, while pro-actively protecting the rights of terrorists.

Hello Mrs Kray,
The Met here.
Ah Metropolitan police madam..
We hear you are the godmother and spokesperson for the East End Thieving community.
We believe that your twins may be responsible for a lot of organised crime and dead bodies on the streets of London.
We'd like to talk to them.
No not tonight. We thought around dawn a week next tuesday.
Do you think they will be available for questioning?

IT BEGGARS FUCKING BELIEF INDEED!!

It must be a sick joke inserted into the Times.

Yes they seem to have completely lost it now. I do hope its a clever idea to lull them into a sense of security...however I fear they are not that clever.

I have always wondered how you become a "community leader". I've always quite fancied the job. Never seen it advertised (even when I've read The Guardian). I'd lead a community of agnostic sole-traders. As you can imagine, in Manchester, that's quite a demographic.

I doubt I'm up to the job though. I'm not quite antagonistic enough to the rest of society. I also tend to think that if something goes wrong in my life it's probably my fault. Oh, I'd be useless.

I sincerely believe the MSF will slowly expand their remit to a defacto veto and then on to other matters, such as any action with regards to a riot or civil disturbance, then search warrants...

It would be utterly naive not to expect all the hatstand ranting hate-groups to want their man on the board and if they do not, to get leverage any-which-way over one or more of those people.

Oh, I forgot, naive is the name of the game in this area, as I recall they "asked" the members to "promise not to tell". Bit like how they treat thugs...send them on their way if they promise not to beat old ladies to an early grave...again.

Thank Christ my father emigrated to Australia in 1954. I never fancied growing up in an Islamic state.

I have always wondered how you become a "community leader".

That's easy. You just send your contact details out to a bunch of journalists, if they decide to use you as a convenient spokesman for whatever group you belong, hey presto you're now a 'Community Leader'.

Ah Moriaty, I see now. I now declare myself leader of the Levenshulme Popular Front*. I shall be holding court at Nawab's curry house most evenings between 7 and 10.

*Not to be confused with the "Popular Front of Levenshulme" - splitters!!!

The plan has the backing of Sir Ian Blair. That's all you need to know.

There was (and, to a limited extent, still is) a "liberation theology" wing of the Catholic Church in Ulster that was pro terrorist - however, whether these people can really be called Catholics is a moot point, as whilst they often wore the clothes of (for example) priests they did not beleive in the basic doctrines of the Catholic Church (some of them did not even believe in the existance of God). Of course both the I.R.A (both Official and Provisional) and the I.N.L.A. were "Catholic" in media terms only - these were people who were not very interested in (for example) transubstantiation or purgatory (indeed many of the leaders of the various "Republican" factions were and are Marxist athiests).

Both the police and the army in Ulster were very wary of (for example) searching for arms or for wanted terrorists on Catholic Church property - even if the priests and other such were Catholics in name only (in other parts of the world both government and private forces fighting communists have had to learn the bitter lesson that not everyone who wears a clerical collar is a priest - and with the liberation theolgy crowd, as with any other communist, the only relationship is kill or be killed).

As for telling Muslims when Muslim houses or business enterprises are to be searched - that is the same as President Clinton and co telling the security forces of Pakistan, in advance, about operations directed at O.B.L. and others.

"But they are on our side, after all the terrorists have tried to kill the President of Pakistan many times" (as the Bush Administration people say).

Certainly the terrorists have tried to kill the President of Pakistan many times, but that will not stop senior people in the government of Pakistan (perhaps the President himself) tipping off the terrorists about an operation directed against them.

I remember upsetting some people by writing about the experiences of an old family friend ("Uncle Bill") in Iraq between the World Wars.

A Muslim may be your friend and ally for years, but you must never tell him anything you do not wish to be generally known - and you must never turn your back on him (even for a second), one's guard must be up at all times.

The Muslim may have all sorts of good reasons to kill you (for example his wife and children may be being held hostage and the only way he will see them again is to kill you), or he may simply remember that he is a Muslim and you are an infidel, but be that as it may - his being your friend and ally for X number of years is no reason to trust him.

Of course this does not mean that one should not be friendly - one should give every indication of respect and friendship (whilst not trusting the people one is dealing with an inch, and being ready to fight to the death at any time), to some extent one has to be two faced in these matters.

How about the Metropolitan Police consult the Brazilian Embassy before attempting to arrest anyone on the Underground?

Well, there is only one explantion for it -- Mr. Blair either got blackmailed (remember Dr. Bari threatening civil war by 2 million muslims in the UK?) or, there is a skeleton in the closet, the size of Tyrannosaurus ex.

Either way, something fishy is going on here.

No, Cinnamon,

It is a mistake to assume there's some reason. or some individual human agency 'behind' everything. That way conspiracy theory lies. This is just what it appears on the surface: the Met trying to curry favour with "community leaders" in order to maintain a relationship. The community leaders have no reason to discredit themselves with their communities by hanging around with the Met unless they can get something in return that shows they are being influential. The Met has to appear to be working with community leaders because that it is the (unsubstantiated, but entirely unquestioned) public doctrine about how you deal with problems with people who can be classified as members of a particular labeled group under multiculturalism.

Cinnamon;
As Guy says, it is a mistake to ascribe to malice what can be adequately caused by stupidity.
I wonder what happens the next time (and there will certainly be a next time) these stone age morons murder a few bus loads of people. Will we see Ian Blair whining "why didn't you tell us", or will the day of reckoning finally have arrived.
As to the two million enraged muslims that Ali Baba threatens us with; So what, how will that make it any different to how it is now.
When the other 58 million of us includes some fairly aggressive Sikhs and Hindus with plenty of reason to hate these shits, just how do they propose to keep from decorating every lamp standard from here (Paddington) to Dover.
Warriors of islam? Dont make me laugh! Seething wankers who are so brave ten on one, or shooting nuns in the back. You baboon faced fucks are going to fight usat odds of ten to one for us? Please, bring it on.
No, I dont like them.

Paul Marks wrote:

I remember upsetting some people by writing about the experiences of an old family friend ("Uncle Bill") in Iraq between the World Wars.

Great post! I'd love to read the "Uncle Bill" story, if you have a link for it (but if you'd rather not stir up another kerfuffle here, I understand).

I see something like this, and I wonder if it's calculated to create hate against Muslims from others.

I see something like this, and I wonder if it's calculated to create hate against Muslims from others.