Sky News takes part in a joint investigation with The Guardian, Bellingcat and Lighthouse Reports.
Ooh! Is it into government incompetence?
UK-made anti-riot gear has been widely used in America during clashes with Black Lives Matter protesters, despite the government's claim there is "no evidence" British equipment was used, Sky News has found.
Oh, wait! Is it illegal?
There is no suggestion of wrongdoing by DMS Plastics, which manufactures the shields, which are a form of personal protection equipment, and sold them legally to a US distributor.
Well, imagine my baffled face then...
Emily Thornberry, the shadow trade secretary, says the review is not robust: "We should have done a proper review and we should have stopped it." She adds: "You're not allowed to sell riot equipment if it is being used for internal repression. So then the question is: What is internal repression?"
Why are you asking, Emily? Shouldn't you know?
"Well, internal repression is unlawfully hitting people, let's say, a cancer victim with a stick, it is attacking members of the press, it is using unlawful violence, it is using it in order to suppress legitimate, lawful demonstrations."
Gosh, we wouldn't want to be unlawfully hitting people, would we? Or attacking members of the press?
And suppressing legitimate lawful demonstrations is something Labour never did when in power, right..?
The Black Lives Matter protests that have taken place since the end of May have been widely peaceful.
First of all it needs to be said that the media and Labour are lying by saying that the BLM/Marxist protests have been 'mostly peaceful'. Secondly these shields are not and should not be considered in the category as for example lethal firearms or non lethal riot control equipment such as CS gas or baton rounds etc. You would expect wouldn't you that someone of Thornberry's obvious level of education would understand such nuance. Finally Britain has, partially as a result of the embarrassments caused by the Iraq Supergun affair, now got one of the most stringent export control systems in the free world, not quite as strict as that of the USA, but pretty strict.
ReplyDeleteThis is a 'nothingburger' of a story, of the sort that we've come to expect from the likes of Sky and the Guardian.
File this under 'why Labour can't win elections'. They're outrageously outraged by allegations of police brutality in the Great Satan but the Blue Badge Thugs attacking peaceful demonstrators in Trafalger Square?
ReplyDeleteNope, no comment. They're all about the virtue signalling to their fellow north London twerps. They don't have any actual principled objection to police brutality, just they want the right people to get a good kicking.
“internal repression is unlawfully hitting people, let's say, a cancer victim with a stick, it is attacking members of the press, it is using unlawful violence, it is using it in order to suppress legitimate, lawful demonstrations.”
ReplyDeleteSo they're investigating whether BLM and Antifa got hold of this equipment, yes?
I am reminded of the British company which supplied the toxin used in executions to the USA. Human rights campaigners out a stop to that trade. The result was that an interior chemical was used causing unnecessary suffering. A classic own goal.
ReplyDeleteAndy5759 I recall that case. It wasn't just the HR campaigners pressing the UK Govt to ban this trade. Much of the impulse for a ban came from the EU. See EU regulation linked below:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.gov.uk/guidance/controls-on-torture-goods
"...these shields are not and should not be considered in the category as for example lethal firearms or non lethal riot control equipment..."
ReplyDeleteOh, indeed not. They are protective equipment. No different from hi-vis jackets.
"File this under 'why Labour can't win elections'. "
I'm gonna need a much bigger hard drive if this keeps up!
"So they're investigating whether BLM and Antifa got hold of this equipment, yes?"
Heh! Popcorn time!
"The result was that an interior chemical was used causing unnecessary suffering. A classic own goal."
*runs out of popcorn* Well, damn!