The Metropolitan Police are now encouraging people to turn in their neighbours if they suspect them of being anarchists.

[[EDIT: The police actually retracted the statement the next day. I'll leave my reaction here for the world to see, though.]]

Now I am no anarchist, as my previous posts should testify, however I have sympathy for many groups defined by the holding of an idea I refute; Muslims are treated despicably by many in the UK for no reason other than holding a set of beliefs, and the police are also more likely to stop and search them owing no doubt to (possibly subconscious) racial prejudice; I deem this to be wholly unacceptable too.

This case, though, is in my mind even more insidious. The police are taking it upon themselves to persecute people for holding a political position. To quote from the witness/whistleblower appeal leaflet:

“Anarchism is a political philosophy which considers the state undesirable, unnecessary, and harmful, and instead promotes a stateless society, or anarchy. Any information relating to anarchists should be reported to your local police.”

Whether or not we have a state is a matter for the whole British public during elections, and nothing whatsoever to do with the jurisdiction of the police. An elected government is perfectly within it’s rights to disband all police forces tomorrow – and this is a good thing. (the power to do it, not the thing itself…)

Moreover, this is the police directly attacking people over their thoughts – literally thoughtcrime – and encouraging others to report their neighbours thoughts – straight out of the totalitarian playbook. I hesitate to blame Labour’s appeasement strategy with The Sun and Chief Constables for the Metropolitan Police Force’s decision to take the unconscionable initiative here, but I could do.

Now let’s be clear; if an anarchist were to commit a crime in the name of her political beliefs, and this can be proven in a court, I have no issue with them being punished. Objection to the existence of law isn’t an excuse to break it, harming people or property in the process. But neither should the police be allowed to harass people based on holding such a philosophical position.

We need to see the prosecution of this police force under the human rights act, and if that isn’t a legal option then we need an explicit new law protecting citizens’ freedom of political thought and expression from any state actor; police, army, bureaucrat, politician. Such legislation shouldn’t be necessary, because no police force should be stupid enough to enter the realm of politics like this; but apparently they are, so it is.