“Free speech is clearly under attack. Nobody is really safe… the public needs to see what’s happening, and be shocked.”

So why aren't they? Do they think this sort of thing won't happen to them?

Julian Foulkes, from Gillingham in Kent, was handcuffed at his home by six officers from Kent Police – the force he had served for a decade – after challenging a supporter of pro-Palestinian marches on X. Police body-worn camera footage captured officers scrutinising the 71-year-old’s collection of books by authors such as Douglas Murray, a Telegraph contributor, and issues of The Spectator, pointing to what they described as “very Brexity things”.

I spent Saturday binge watching 'Zero Day' on Netflix, and the reaction of the American people to Bob De Niro's character getting a bit too fascist in his hunt for cyberterrorists was quite a contrast to the supine way the UK public treat outrages like these ones. Yes, it is fiction, but my god....

Mr Foulkes’s house was searched, with officers seizing his electronic devices and removing them to a waiting police van. Officers also rifled through his most personal belongings.After his home was searched, the retired special constable was locked in a police cell for eight hours and interrogated on suspicion of malicious communications.

And I think no-one really knows how they'd cope with that, or what they'd do to get out, no matter how wise in the ways of the law they might be... 

Fearing that further escalation could impact his ability to visit his surviving daughter, who lives in Australia, he accepted a caution despite having committed no offence.

Hard to blame him. 

The incident took place in November 2023. This week, Kent Police admitted the caution was a mistake and deleted it from Mr Foulkes’s record.

Because of the 'Telegraph's interest? 

On Saturday, a Kent Police spokesman told The Telegraph the force had “concluded that the caution against Mr Foulkes was not appropriate in the circumstances and should not have been issued”. The spokesman said “Kent Police expunged the caution from the man’s record and was pleased to facilitate this correction”, adding that a further review of the matter would now be carried out “to identify any learning opportunities”.

Ah, if only. They appear incapable of that. 

A Home Office spokesman said: “This incident occurred under the previous government.

A (nominally) Conservative government, remember. 

H/T: Chris Parry via Twitter

A Rose By Any Other Name...

...might not pass muster at the Passport Office, because they are all stupid:

Parents who want to name their children after Disney characters, global brands, football teams or sci-fi heroes may well want to think again, as it could make travelling a nightmare in time to come. That was the scenario facing one family this week when they faced missing a dream holiday to the Dominican Republic because of their son's name. A passport application for youngster Loki Skywalker Mowbray was thrown out by Home Office officials 'for copyright issues'.

Incorrectly, actually - this story has already surfaced and been blown out of the water once. So much for civil servants 'learning lessons'.

His disappointed father, soldier and massive Star Wars fan Christian Mowbray, 48, from Woodbridge, Suffolk, was told to change his son's name or get permission from the copyright owner Disney to use the name 'Skywalker'. While the Home Office has since U-turned on their decision, their experience serves as a cautionary tale to others - including people considering changing their birth names by deed poll - not to fall foul of the Home Office's pernickety rules for passports.

They don't need to, the Home Office needs to ensure the people that 'work' there understand the rules. Something they seem to find hard to do.