More common sense from Richard Littlejohn on motoring laws

Here at MAD we quite Richard Littlejohn - over the years he has remained true to the cause of exposing the horror on Nu Liebour laws aimed raising cash from motorists.

He at least has always understood that the previous Govt of inepts were only interested in criminalising and fining large sections of the population.

In this column he lambasts the Chief Constable of Cambridgeshire, Julie Spence.

Among her latest targets are middle-class motorists, whom she is accusing of hypocrisy for objecting to speed cameras and parking tickets while demanding vociferously that police enforce the law in other areas.

Mrs Spence completely misses the point. What people object to is the arbitrary nature of the road traffic laws, which take no account of safety or local conditions and appear designed simply to turn otherwise law-abiding taxpayers into criminals, while at the same time maximising revenue through fixed-penalty fines spewed out by computer.

We also resent the constant attempts by police chiefs such as Mrs Spence to equate the ‘crime’ of driving perfectly safely at 78 mph on a deserted M11 with burglary, mugging and anti-social behaviour.

She epitomises the new breed of chief constable who sees policing as a cross between social work and big business and is scathing about the paying public’s longing for a Dixon Of Dock Green utopia.

Read more.

So let us repeat: to make our roads as safe as they were (before Tony Bliar took charge) we need MORE police on our roads not more speed cameras.

Captain Gatso
The Motorists' Friend

Why the Police in the UK do not respect freedom or democracy

People keep telling me that I'm wrong on the Police State UK.

But the evidence keeps piling up. The problem is that the rozzers either don't understand the law - or keep on making it up as they go along.

Here are two cases from this week alone which illustrate why these clowns can do what they do without EVER being sacked.

Democracy? Bring it - it should make for a nice change in this country.

Case number 1:
Read how the police overstep the mark and then push a 15-year-old down some steps because he - RIGHTLY - tries to tell them what the law is: Journalism and this Hackney news site.

Here's the best bit for me:

Director of Big Brother Watch Alex Deane told Journalism.co.uk it would support Mattsson in any future cases against the police.

"Some officers think that anti-terror legislation gives them blanket powers to hassle people whenever they want," he says. "This case is a very bad example of that. Confronted by bullying policemen, acting entirely outside their powers, this young man admirably stood up for himself and rightly maintained that he was entitled to take pictures in a public place. The police should apologise immediately and admit that they were in the wrong."

Case number 2:
Journalists win payout after police admit failing to respect press freedom - The Guardian

Watch this idiot in action. They really don't care about freedoms do they? Can they really believe it's always 'us and them'. At this rate it soon will be.

Captain Gatso

1 in 1,800 speeding cops get speeding tickets

You don't really need me to comment on the story in today's Sun: Gatso let-off for speeding cops.
I've made plain on this blog several times that one of the best ways to avoid a speeding ticket is to wear a uniform.
No surprise that *all* of the investigated cases were of police on emergency calls. Nice work!
It would be nice to find out just how many OFF DUTY police officers are let off.
Now that really would be a story.

Capt Gatso
The Motorists Friend

The police are stuck in a minefield

It's no suprise that the IPCC is getting involved with the police not wearing the ID numbers on their uniforms.
It's getting out of hand. Loads of coppers turned up at the G20 demo with theirs missing or covered up. This is strictly against their own rules. And they did at the Tamil protest outside Parliament too.
And then we have news that the raid on Tory MP Damien Green was wrong but also politically motivated. The police overstepped the mark and have shown they are just a political arm for Zanu Labour. I said previously there was never any 'national security threat'.
The Home Secretary is starting to look ridiulous. A politically motivated Police investigation to silence an opposition MP? Unbelievable.
To underline that the police are their own worst enemy and we now live in a police state, consider from today's news:
* two Austrian tourist have their photographs of London BUSES deleted by two coppers under the anti terrorism legislation (indeed the coppers are wrong and may have committed an offence themselves)
* The woman hit with a cosh at the G20 says her tormentor is a bully (by a sergeant without his ID on his shoulder and who towered above the woman)
* And I would like to remind readers that when Tony Blair was arrested (the ONLY serving Prime Minister to be arrested) his DNA was not taken. Again aganist the rules and no reason as to why he has special treatment

My police friends are getting fed-up with how the police are being shown up in the media. There's just one easy solution - remember who pays your wages and start showing decent ordinary people some respect.

There's more on this issue tomorrow!

** I could rant on about petrol prices rising to 95p a litre but I can't do it. I'm beyond despair at this Government fleecing honest, law-abiding motorists in this way. Disgusting. Vote them out.
*** I could even go on about the Budget that's being planned. We are already the most taxed nation in Europe so we can't have any more taxes imposed. Then there are rumours that our pensions (ie Private not public service ones) are about to be raided once again. We must be close to civil insurrection mustn't we?

Captain Gatso

Scotland Yard PR - I salute you!!

So Bob Quick falls on his sword after revealing a top secret paper outside 10 Downing Street. But he hasn't left the police force.

Let's leave that bit of spin for a moment.

It was sad that the MoD had to issue a D Notice to stop the media running with the story as it gave them time to organise a PR strategy. The paper itself didn't reveal too much about what was going on.

And then the copper who shoved the G20 protestor who went on, moments later, to have a heart attack, 'came forward'.

Well he was always going to be identifed but the timing just stinks. The police are desperate to get this death off the news agenda and, hey presto, the clown Bob Quick steps in. This is his third major apology in as many months, isn't it?

The best thing about the poor man's death at the G20 is the police's obsession with filming and monitoring everyone. Guilty or not, you are being registered by mere fact that you were there.

But, oh no, the police have been filmed doing something very bad. I think the footage (from an American banker appalled at the antics of the police) is pretty conclusive.

There is no way the police can wriggle out of this one and their original PR spin about helping a man from being bottled is exactly what this lot is about. Now the spin is unravelling and the chiefs are facing a nightmare of ordinary people asking that someone be held to account.

Make no mistake, that footage looks like a manslaughter charge to me.

The damage has been done and people are questioning police tactics like this and the idiot notion of 'penning in'.

Let's support the Lib Dems who say that the police are unaccountable and uncontrollable.

Please prove to me that we don't yet live in a police state.

Oh and Bob Quick if you had any real shame about being found for being a buffoon you would resign from the police service, instead of being the PR fall guy for one day's headlines.

Captain Gatso
The Motorists Friend

Police told not to police

This is an outrageous story which was sent to me by a serving officer (Yes, they do read this blog and are very supportive. Er, generally, of what I am trying to say). You will be reading about this in the nation's media.

Basically, a senior traffic officer friend of mine who works out of the 'Empire State Building' in London forwarded me on yesterday a lovely email stating in great detail how they are not to police many traffic misdemeaners such as no entry and no left turns - in fact a long list of traffic violations.

It's so that TfL and the local councils can start scooping up the revenue from a £100 ticket which is sent to the registered keeper every time they are seen committing an offence.

In extreme circumstances 'words of advice' may be offered to the errant drivers.

This is another case of us moving towards a police state, governed by camera and Big Brother spies. A police state is a corrupt state. So here we are again with legitimate, law abiding people getting hammered. Because you won't find those who don't register their cars, foreign drivers and those with false plates being at all concerned about this move.

Clearly, it's all about the money. Police officers have a discretion to issue words of advice, vehicle rectification certificate, a fine or a fine and points in certain cases.

However this is purely about getting the cash in to the council's coffers.

But also remember that when police officers stop people for small traffic infringments that they often find other evidence of criminal activities or intent.

So I send this message to the new Commissioner Sir Paul Stephenson - this is not a good start to your job. Must try harder. And you MUST re-invest some money into your depleting road traffic police within London.

To everyone outside of the capital: remember that where London leads other councils will follow. This is the thin end of the wedge.

Here's a quick round-up

I've been 'occupied' for a few days and didn't have time to update this blog so here, in no particular order, is my take on a few things.

* The Middle East crisis. Nice to see that the Middle East envoy due to make everything better didn't actually get there until Israel invaded. So well done to Tony Blair who wouldn't interrupt his holiday even though he is the 'special envoy'. Let's not forget that because of his lies, men and women are still dying in an illegal war; in another war no-one understands why we are there and the country is on its arse. Never mind, Tony has earned well over £12million since leaving office.

* The M11 speed camera. Until it was pointed out to me I hadn't realised that this thing is racking up speeding 'fines' of around £30,ooo every 24 hours. That's around 500 drivers a day. Or about £1million a month. Err do the authorities not think it's time to look at signage and how the road is laid out or do we want them to rack up the cash.

* Oh and I could could bang on about people wanting us to take the Euro because of the economy. We don't need to go cap in hand to the Eurozone. They need us. We are still a net contributor to the loony EU gravytrain so we should throw our weight around a bit more. (And can anyone in favour of taking the Euro please explain to me why we have to give our gold reserves over to Germany for the privilege?).

Bob Quick - oversensitive, overreactive 'copper'

More evidence that the police are a now a political branch of the Zanu Labour Party comes in the form of tetchy Asst Comm Bob Quick who slagged of the Tories for highlighting where he lives - forcing him to move his family at short notice.
He was reacting to a great story in the Mail on Sunday which revealed his wife was running a limo firm - from his home.
Errr, this bloke is the top anti-terrorist copper and is announcing his home address on the Internet and local newspaper adverts.
So his slagging of the Tories was unwelcome. And probably untrue since the story probably came from a colleague at Scotland Yard.
More importantly is his outrage that this was a political move to prevent his inquiry into the Damian Green MP affair.
This is balls. Raiding the House of Commons without a search warrant is a massive affront to democracy.
Because, believe me, if this lot get way with this and manage to charge Damian Green with something then we really are living in a police state.

Ho ho ho - the thin blue line gets thinner

Bizarrely, I thought this would make a much bigger story.
There are fewer police now - down at least 1,500 in a year.
But the number of PCSOs (Blunkett's plastic policemen) has DOUBLED.
This is just policing on the cheap and raises some worrying issues. Zanu Labour are forking out ever increasing amounts for policing and for what?
Civilian staff and well-paid middle management that's what.
We need more officers on streets, and we especially need officers patrolling our roads.

This Damian Green case just won't go away

Leaving aside the fact that the police are a law unto themselves, what are we to make of a top cop investigating how the police behaved in handling the Damian Green case?

The alarm bells must be ringing loud within ZANU Labour because they know they've made a wrong move (and of course it helps that the Home Secretary tells fibs and the Prime Minister remains silent).

The Met's acting commissioner, Sir Paul Stephenson, says "I am properly concerned about the issues being raised within the continuing debate." Which is his way of saying they hadn't thought it through and that to enter the Commons was a sign of intimidation. If MPs can't conduct their business, what hope is there for the rest of us?

The Speaker, Gorbals Mick is useless. He never letsthe Government be criticised and gave Tony Bliar such an easy ride that he's a disgrace to the position.

Come on boys bring on the vote of no confidence.

The real issue here is that ZANU Labour and their underlings have lost sight of thefact they work for us.

And not, as they think, the population are a distraction from their every day workings. I mean this shower have introduced 3,500 NEW offences since coming to power.

They've managed to criminalise thousands of ordinary, hard working people with their war on the motorist and yet they still don't get it. (And yet proper villians get cautions because to charge them would affect the crime statistics which would make them much worse than they already are).

They've lost most of their party membership and have to offer dodgy dealings to get money in the bank.

They also claim to have created jobs (yes, for migrants) but what they don't say that there are 600,000 more people working for the Government - and these people don't create wealth. They have no idea how to.

Darling's 'daring gamble' with the country's economy will come back to haunt us.
This country is morally bankrupt and it's the fault of Bliar and Mugabe Brown.

We're doomed I tell you, doomed.

Captain Gatso
The Motorists Friend
http://captaingatso.net