"Are you now or have you ever been...
...a member of the British National Party?"
McCarthyism in Britain? Well not quite, but according to this Guardian article, the British Police has a policy of banning BNP members.
Not only will the police fire any officer found to be a member of BNP, they are also using CCTV to investigate allegations of BNP membership. In short the Police is using CCTV to find evidence of legal political activity to impose sanctions against some of its members!
The BNP is a far-right party whose policies I oppose. It is nevertheless a legal political party registered with the electoral commission.
If police officers have broken the law, e.g. engaged in rioting or broken Britain's Race Equality Laws, then the police would have legitimate grounds for firing the such officers. However, a free and democratic society will not discriminate, or deprive individuals of their right to work, on the basis of legal political activity.
posted by Torsten Pedersen @ Tuesday, May 08, 2007
3 comments
3 Comments:
This is the worst use of cctv I've ever heard of!!
The worst thing though, it seems like nobody rises an eyebrow of the use of cctv. The article is only concerned with the fact that there might be BNP members in the police...
Maybe they should start checking for animal rights activists or anti-nuclear weapon activists in the police force! There are so many interesting uses of cctv!!
Thank you Karlund, I was starting to think I was alone in being outraged!
The article and actions of the police are shocking. First because of the 'berufsverbot' towards BNP members, secondly because of the police is using CCTV to monitor and punish people for being engaged in legal activities.
Most shocking, however, is the unashamed way the police is publicizing its actions!
Nope you are not. This just re-enforce my urge to join Liberty!! I must do it...
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