A Fair Cop - or is it? asks Chris White, as Britain Appears to be Heading Towards Civil War

That Elon Musk was right to suggest to Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer that Britain is heading for civil war is beyond question. The fact is that the country is, and has been for some time, engaged in an escalating situation amounting to exactly that.

To quote the Cambridge Dictionary, war is “any situation in which there is strong competition between opposing sides or a great fight against something harmful”.

Wars have winners and losers and it is reasonable to conjecture that freedom and democracy will be on the losing side if the latest phase of this particular bout of civil conflict is anything to go by.

On the positive side the emergency, for that is what it is, may result in some badly needed improvements in terms both civil and political.

That social media is out of control and is increasingly becoming a threat to all aspects of society has been obvious for a very long time.

That the printed press, radio and television have sunk to unacceptable standards has been stated here and in limited terms elsewhere, but as an issue, this is apparently not high on the political agenda.

So, perhaps the fact that social media has been identified as promoting violent protest largely on false information is a welcome initiative. But be warned: history shows us that the first move towards a police state is to control what people are allowed to say.

New laws relating to social media are due to arrive next year. Under the last government laws introduced to control public disorder were heavily criticised and continue to be although the public debate has died down in terms of established media.

Are claims that Britain “is becoming a police state” in any way justified? That is for individuals to decide but, while joining absolutely, in condemning the violence and criminal activity reported to have been involved in the most recent riots, there are some deeply worrying aspects, if true, of what has followed.

**The judiciary and the police are supposed to be independent of government.**

That police chiefs should have been invited to Downing Street to be told to share resources and intelligence is, in the loosest possible terminology “rather strange”.

That the current Prime Minister’s condemnation of violence should be echoed almost exactly by senior police officers stirs the senses in terms of living in a free society.

That could be dismissed as letting imagination get a hold except that comments about “swift justice” “the full weight of the law” and “preparation for fast track convictions” as well as “extra cells for those convicted are ready” have echoed around the walls of Westminster and various police headquarters.

Perhaps more sinister in a philosophical assessment of the situation are the words of a senior judge about severe sentences and jail terms that came before anyone was due in court.

According to the national reportage what is currently coming down for those arrested is what is due.

Of course, however, all that came before people even began to appear in court. So what has happened to the British sense of fair justice and the right to be considered innocent until proven guilty?

Politician’s demands that parliament be recalled to enable questions to be put to ministers were refused.

That if people arrested were guilty they deserve just sentences goes without saying, but there was a time when the amount of publicity surrounding these current events would have persuaded judges to postpone a trial “in the interest of judicial fairness”.

It should not be forgotten that Adolf Hitler’s key strategy to establish himself as Fuhrer was to get the police and courts under his control.

Today no one in their right mind would support violent protest and it certainly wouldn’t be allowed to happen without the most brutal and severe consequences in Russia these days.

Yes, the United Kingdom is experiencing something akin to civil war.

There are many issues that have the potential to explode in outpourings and demonstrations of public feeling. As things stand people would be well advised to refrain from taking part in the current protests.

What is needed if true democracy and freedom is to survive is a complete reform of the judicial system and, in my personal view, a national police force that operates according to the law as set down by parliament.

While the incidents involving what police, politicians and senior judicial figures described as “thuggery” – a term surely prejudicial to a fair trial since it came prior to appearances in court – a leading newspaper published a report suggesting that evidence was withheld at the trial of nurse convicted and sentenced for multiple murders.

That evidence, if there is any substance to it and if correctly reported, strongly suggests that a cause for the victims deaths lay elsewhere. It is a matter for lawyers but could be a contributing factor in calls for reform of the judicial system.

Publicity should not influence the courts but public opinion has been reported as the reason why oil protesters were handed down such lengthy prison sentences, far longer than those given to the first of those handed down to rioters that have so far been sentenced in cases involving planning rather than taking part in protests.

So was there some form of political influence?

Main Image: By StreetMic LiveStream, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=151177179