‘Yid Army’ charges should never have been brought
It is good news that charges have been dropped against three Tottenham fans for using the word ‘Yid’. But why was such a case brought in the first place? It was last September that the FA put out a statement warning Spurs fans that their ‘Yid Army’ chants are likely ‘to be considered offensive by the reasonable observer. Use of the term in a public setting could amount to a criminal offence and leave fans liable to prosecution’. Tottenham fans had also been told to ‘drop the Y-word from their songbook’ by lobby groups such as the Community Security Trust and the…
No to state parents in Scotland
The Scottish government has passed a bill to appoint a ‘named person’ for every child at birth, with the responsibility of ‘advising, informing or supporting the child or young person’. These parental functions will hitherto be allotted to an employee of a health board or education authority (it is specifically stated that the named person cannot be one of the child’s parents). This extraordinary Children and Young Person’s Act exemplifies a shift within child protection policy, from focusing on children ‘at risk of significant harm’, to the state assuming responsibility for ensuring the ‘wellbeing’ of every child – as if the entire…
57 travel-restricting ‘bubble’ football matches
In the Manifesto Club report, Criminalising Football Fans, Peter Lloyd documented the heavy-handed use of travel restrictions for football fans, known as ‘bubble matches’. At these matches away-fans are banned from travelling by car or public transport, and can only travel by licensed coaches from specified pick-up points. This is a major inconvenience, and gross interference on the freedom of movement of the majority of law-abiding fans. In April 2012, Peter Lloyd found that there had been 48 ‘bubble’ matches. He now reports there have been seven ‘bubble’ matches since the publication of the report, and two matches are scheduled in the…
Tell House of Lords about problems for international students
We’ve written before about the problem of final-year architecture students under threat of deportation. The House of Lords’ Science and Technology Committee has issued a call for evidence, on the effect of immigration rules on international students. The deadline is 20 February. Do contact them with any case studies. We are looking for other architecture students in the same position as Roxanne Walters – under threat of deportation in their final year. If this is you, do get in touch. Tweet
Remove leafleting restrictions for local events!
It has become almost impossible to hand out leaflets in many town and city centres. Local councils including Brighton, Leicester and Leeds have introduced leafleting zones, within which you have to pay a fee (and often wear a badge) if you want…
The Corruption of Punishment
A new Manifesto Club report shows how local authorities are using litter fines as a money-making operation. People are being fined for increasingly trivial incidents – from dropping a match stick, to a piece of cotton falling off a glove. More worryingly, often these fines are given out by private companies who are working on a commission basis. The report argues that such profiteering punishment works against the interests of justice and public service. We recommend that fines be used only in proportion to the offence, and when necessary for the public interest. Download the report: The Corruption of Punishment Responses to…
Banned in London – Online map
You are in danger of unwittingly committing an offence if you stray into one of 435 special zones in London. The boundaries of these zones are often unmarked and within them many everyday activities are either banned or restricted. A new Manifesto Club online Google map, Banned in London, reveals the 435 special zones that now cover half the area of the UK capital. In these areas, people can be fined or prosecuted for activities that would not otherwise be an offence – including leafleting, protesting, dog walking, gathering in groups, and drinking in public. Go to the Banned in London…
Security scare over a walking stick
This YouTube video shows a standoff between a British citizen and a police officer. The officer is concerned that the citizen’s walking stick is actually a ‘drinking stick’, filled with alcohol, and demands to search it. The citizen responds that he does not want it to be searched, explaining that if you unscrew the pin it will take ages to get back together. Cue surreal conversation. ‘It’s a walking stick’. Officer: ‘It’s not a drinking stick then?’ ‘I don’t drink’. Officer: ‘It’s unusual to see people walking along with objects like this. Sometimes they have a little dagger in it’. ‘I can…
A Bill of Rights for Free Photography in the City
Photographers in the City of London face constant hassle from private security guards (see a film and blogpost on this here). The Manifesto Club’s Peter Lloyd approached City authorities, asking whether they planned to do anything about these over-officious private security guards. With the help of councilman Alex Deane, the City has responded by issuing a booklet for private security guards about the regulation of photography. This booklet emphasises that security personnel ‘do not have the right to stop individuals photographing or filming in a public place’. It also states that security personnel should ‘refrain from acting in an intimidating manner’; that…
Child photography banned at National Trust for Scotland site
This email recalls how a visitor to a National Trust for Scotland site was warned at the entrance that he shouldn’t take photographs of children… ‘I recently visited J.M. Barrie’s birthplace home in Kirriemuir, Angus, a building run by the National Trust for Scotland, holding a camera. I was expressly told, as I purchased tickets, that I must not use my camera to photograph children. Mention was made of both child protection and data protection legislation, and also of the possibility of tracing women in refuges via possible posting on social networking sites. ‘It did make me feel that I was being…
Headteacher reports artist mother to police for pictures of her son
I just received this email from an artist, who was reported to the police by her son’s headteacher, because of photos of the artist’s son on her website. This truly extraordinary story indicates the extent to which schools are seeking to regulate photos of children – which stretches to censoring photos in their parents’ artwork… ‘My son’s headteacher called the police in 2010 to my son’s primary school, after seeing pictures of my son on my website. I had had a performance at the Courtauld Institute and my son’s teacher missed it so I gave her a video of myself and my…
Briefing Document – Private security guards get yet more police powers
This Manifesto Club report investigates the Community Safety Accreditation Scheme (CSAS), under which private security guards and other individuals are given police powers. We found that 80% of these individuals are not being monitored by police authorities – yet possess powers to…