Police State

On 1st April the Met Police murder Ian Tomlinson.

On 2nd April a Met Police thug assaults a woman at a memorial for Ian Tomlinson. The thug had clearly planned do some hippy bashing that day - he had covered the identification numbers on his shoulders.

These are just two of the acts of police brutality meted out to the G20 protesters in London. They were fortunately caught on camera. Now just imagine how many weren't. The pathetic reaction of the "Independent" Police Complaints Commission to the Met's actions shows how incompetent they are.

Don't expect anything to come from the IPCC's investigations. Don't expect the review by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Police to achieve anything - Denis O'Connor, Her Majesty's Inspector of Police, is a former Assistant Commissioner of the Met Police! (You couldn't make it up). And don't expect any of the police officers responsible for the brutality to be punished. They never are.

This kind of police heavy handedness isn't restricted to the Met.

• On 13th April Nottinghamshire Police arrested 114 people on suspicion that may commit a crime by disrupting an E.on power station. All 114 people were released without any charge.
• Last August Kent Police employed every underhand tactic possible to disrupt the protests at another E.on power station. Why are the British police so keen to protect foreign owned energy companies from British protesters?
• Hundreds of thousands have been stopped and questioned using anti-terrorism laws. Only a handful of these have led to terrorist convictions.

The police being above the law isn't a recent phenomena. Today is the 20th anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster when 96 football fans were killed due to the actions of South Yorkshire Police. Twenty years on, not one police officer has been brought to justice.

It is now clear that the police see ALL protest as a nuisance. A nuisance that must be eradicated using every legal and illegal means possible. Britain is a police state. But don't blame the police for that. Blame the elected politicians who give the police draconian powers. And blame the "system" that is supposed to defend our rights and police the police.