Andreas Whittam Smith: When the police turn to lobbying Parliament

Oh the naivety of the police chiefs who responded positively to the Home Secretary's wish!

Published: 14 November 2005

What exactly is wrong with this statement by the Association of Chief Police Officers (Acpo): "of course we were contacting MPs. They needed to be informed before they made a decision"? This was the Acpo's response to the charge that senior officers had breached the traditional neutrality of the police service in lobbying for the 90-day detention clause in the Government's anti-terrorist legislation. They had telephoned MPs to make the case. And, in a most extraordinary way, Andy Hayman, the head of Scotland Yard's specialist operations, held talks with around 30 Labour rebels.

Just the phrasing of the Acpo statement, let alone the substance, raises the eyebrow. "Of course" we were contacting MPs. As if what senior police officers were doing was quite normal, merely participating in the political process like any other institution. Except, of course, that the police aren't like any other institution.

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