"once on the terraces, the supporters quickly showed their respective political colours again. "Bye bye Ahmadinejad," cheered the Mousavi supporters. "He hasn't had a shower for two weeks," they added, a cruel reference to the Iranian leader's alleged personal hygeine problems."
It struck me that we may have less freedom of expression in the UK than people enjoy in Iran. These were thousands of people opening chanting an insult to their President with no repercussions. In the UK people have been made to cover up "Bollocks to Blair" T-shirts.
Maya Anne Evans was arrested for simply standing by the Cenotaph and reciting a list of names. She was prosecuted under the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act. On 7 December 2005, Maya Evans, a vegan chef aged 25, was convicted of breaching the new Serious Organised Crime and Police Act by reading aloud at the Cenotaph the names of 97 British soldiers killed in Iraq. So serious was her crime that it required 14 policemen in two vans to arrest her. She was fined and given a criminal record for the rest of her life.
Also in 2005, John Catt was wearing a T-shirt proclaiming "Bush Blair Sharon to be tried for war crimes torture human rights abuse" and, lower down, "the leaders of rogue states". The stop-and-search form filled out by the police officer stated, under grounds for intervention, "carrying plackard and T-shirt with anti-Blair info". The purpose of the stop and search was stated as "terrorism". So now we know. For the Sussex police, at any rate, an anti-Blair slogan is a ground for suspecting terrorism.
Then there was Walter Wofgang who attended the 2005 Labour Party conference as a visitor and sat at the back of the hall in the part of the hall reserved for visitors. During a speech by the then Foreign Secretary, Jack Straw, in response to Jack Straw's statement that "We are in Iraq for one reason only: to help the elected Iraqi government build a secure, democratic and stable nation", Wolfgang shouted "Nonsense!". Some witnesses claimed he then may have added "That's a lie and you know it!" and/or "Pack of lies!". In full view of the television cameras Walter Wofgang was picked up and forcibly removed from the hall and had his security pass confiscated. Erith and Thamesmead Constituency Labour Party chairman Steve Forrest, who was sitting nearby, was also removed (more forcibly) for voicing his objections to Wolfgang's treatment. When Wolfgang attempted to re-enter the conference later the same day, his pass showed that he had been removed previously, and he was briefly held by police under section 44 of the Terrorism Act.
The United Kingdom used to be described as a beacon of free speech; I fear that beacon was dimmed by Tony Blair and that it burns no brighter under Gordon "no referendum, no election" Brown.
For an interesting article about the legal ramifications of the Walter Wofgang case, do take a read of Marcel Berlins' Guardian article from 2005. Please note that the references to masturbating judges relate to the USA and France and not to the UK's judiciary.
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