Peaceful Patriotism Properly Policed

Following the blackshirt protests at Dover, Labour party figures have been making the usual moderate and sensible noises. The Minister for Corporate Lobbyists conceded that peaceful protest is an "essential part of British life," but implied that those who dress up and disrupt the locals might be in danger of verging on the foreign. The relevant parliamentary expenses claimant, while also acknowledging the disruption, was careful to say that the blackshirts might well have been Not Racist But with legitimate and understandable concerns; and he also wondered why the police had not Done More, given the opportunities for arrests over the obstruction of public highways and the brazen flaunting of quasi-burqa face-gear in a designated protest area. In fact there were no arrests at all during the incident; presumably because the police had reasonable doubts as to how many of the protesters were supporters of Palestine Action.