West Midlands Police owe the public an explanation of why they got it so wrong over Undercover Mosque
James Forsyth 6:00pmAlasdair Palmer’s column in The Sunday Telegraph on the whole Undercover Mosque business is essential reading. Undercover Mosque was the Channel 4 programme which revealed the extremism that was being preached inside a Mosque in Birmingham. Rather than examine that, the West Midlands Police decided to investigate the programme makers. It ended up referring the programme to Ofcom; claiming that it had “misrepresented” the preachers featured in the programme and had “undermined community cohesion”. This, worryingly, suggested that West Midlands Police wanted to set itself up as some sort of censor, controlling what could and could not be said in public.
The programme makers had, though, behaved entirely properly. West Midlands police has had to pay out a significant sum to charity to settle a libel suit from the programme makers who, understandably, objected to the charge that they had distorted anything. Yet, it appears that West Midland Police will take no action against those responsible for this sorry episode.
As Palmer writes, this whole affair has been revealing of the mindset that prevails in much of the establishment when it comes to radical Islam: Melanie Phillips is right that the matter should not end here. West Midlands Police owe the public, who will pick up the bill for the libel suit, an explanation of how precisely events unfolded. Also, an officer must take responsibility for this gross waste of police resources.
“His denial is very widely shared – which is why [Anil Patani, the Assistant Chief Constable of West Midlands Police] remains in his job, and why he won’t even be disciplined. The alarming truth is that much of Government policy towards radical Islam is based on Mr Patani’s delusion: if we pretend that radical Islamic preachers do not exist but are rather a creation of Islamophobic journalists, they will just go away. That sort of denial is extremely dangerous.”
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Perry
May 18th, 2008 7:01pm Report this commentWELL DONE James. Keep pushing. Time all this nonsense was stopped.
Tiberius
May 18th, 2008 7:27pm Report this commentSolution on the way from Comrade Brown. Last week he came up with an idea involving elected local police chiefs.
Fergus Pickering
May 18th, 2008 7:36pm Report this commentWe were always told there were too few, oh dear what is te term, ETHNIC policemen. But it looks as if there was at least one too many, doesn't it?
Nicholas
May 18th, 2008 7:45pm Report this commentThis needs broader exposure and debate, including questions in parliament. We also need to know why serving police officers found to be circulating radical islamic material, including disgusting videos of beheadings, remain in their jobs.
The apparent absence of outrage on the part of the muslim majority to radical islamic terror is one of the most worrying aspects of all this.
Another concern is the shift of the police into political territory, with chief police officers publically voicing partisan opinions about policy and law as well as attempting to influence policy and law making. The police exist to serve the law - not to create it or act as an influential lobbying group.
Jessica
May 18th, 2008 7:47pm Report this commentTories should call for the sacking of West Midlands Police chief.
Faceless Bureaucrat
May 18th, 2008 7:48pm Report this comment"This, worryingly, suggested that West Midlands Police wanted to set itself up as some sort of censor, controlling what could and could not be said in public." And why does this come as a surprise to anyone? - with a Government at the helm that desires the centralisation of control over ALL aspects of public life, it is only a matter of time before the police DO have such powers. Fanciful?...
Frank
May 18th, 2008 8:10pm Report this commentA question: is the proportion of Muslims in the upper reaches of the local police force higher than their proportion in the public at large?
Perry
May 18th, 2008 8:38pm Report this comment[OT]
James, I have no wish to divert attention from your important topic, but alongside the errant politicisation of the police is, I consider, another dark brooding menace which needs urgent attention : see pointer below
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article3953922.ece
Perry
May 18th, 2008 8:45pm Report this comment[OT]
James, while I have no wish to divert attention from your important topic, alongside the errant politicisation of the police is, I consider, another dark brooding menace : see below
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article3953922.ece
[James, - I should have added, - perhaps you could start a thread so that we could discuss the subject of quangos?]
Conlige suspectos semper habitos
May 18th, 2008 9:10pm Report this comment... and if any Coffee-Housers want to politely request that West Midlands Police do explain themselves, pop an e-mail to: police-authority@west-midlands.police.uk
salieri
May 18th, 2008 9:21pm Report this commentConlige, wonderful name! But the trouble is they're just not rounded up, isn't it? That would be racist.
Serious question for the journo-sleuths: what input did the Home Office have in the WMP's executive decision? I find it impossible to believe there was none.
Neil
May 18th, 2008 9:37pm Report this commentI submitted a complaint on this very issue to the West Midlands Police last week and am awaiting an acknowledgement/reply.
Praguetory
May 18th, 2008 10:21pm Report this commentIn August last year, Assistant Chief Constable Anil Patani said: "The priority for West Midlands Police has been to investigate the documentary and its making with as much rigour as the extremism the programme sought to portray."
For what it's worth, I believe that most of the 48 Conservative councillors in Birmingham will be very unhappy with this officer.
Bob
May 18th, 2008 10:58pm Report this commentThe public are fortunate the CH4 journalists did a bang up job otherwise the police would be the de facto new censors.
This is cultural marxism and one battle in the war, those of us who value free speech are clearly losing.
Archie
May 19th, 2008 5:41am Report this commentWhy is this so-called policeman still in his job and what is the opposition doing about it?
dreamy_eyed
May 19th, 2008 9:23am Report this commentCheck how Anil Patani got his promotion when he was in Nottingham police force....
Paul B
May 19th, 2008 11:55am Report this commentSenior West Mids Plod, have been exposed to be apologists for & the puppets of extremist Islamists, who are the biggest threat to the safety of the public (leaving aside Brown for once) since the IRA. Plod is paid to detect and protect crime. I would have no confidence West Mids Pol if I lived within their catchment. The senior plod have been shown to be an utter disgrace and waste of (Police) time and public money. Isn`t there an offence in there somewhere? Perhaps they should be investigating themselves
Robert Williams
May 19th, 2008 4:28pm Report this commentStrong views on the subject by Trevor Kavanagh in The Sun
"We must not let their scandalous abuse of power rest here.
The West Midlands Police chief constable, Sir Paul Scott-Lee, should not just be sacked for dereliction of duty — he should be booked for perverting the course of justice. He should tell us why it was left to C4 to unearth extremism rather than police under his command.
And he should say why those caught actively inciting racial hatred — as opposed to filming it — have yet to be charged.
West Midlands Police were caught red-handed putting the interests of the so-called "community" ahead of public safety.
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/columnists/kavanagh/article686412.ece
Frank Pulley
May 20th, 2008 1:04am Report this commentJames, I am still puzzled, having just read Trevor Kavanagh's outburst in the currant bun, reported above by Robert Williams, why you censored my comment which expressed almost identical sentiments. Is it because I also mentioned the NBPA? I'd hate to think that they terrify the Speccie as much as they do their own Chief Constables.
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