Several members of my family live in London and I have been concerned for their welfare. I was not reassured when millionaire and failed Prime Minister Cameron jetted back to "deal with" the London riots. One of the soundbites he thought would play well was to authorise the use of plastic bullets. There are only a
couple of problems with that.
Police target practice on a black citizen lit the blue touchpaper in Tottenham. Was that such a good idea? Did it help the police to work with the community?
Plastic bullets in Northern Ireland resulted in 13 deaths, including those of seven children, and scores of serious, permanent injuries and disabilities. Is this all part of Cameron's "Big Society"?
And finally is it not likely that the plastic bullets for rioters today will be turned on peaceful protestors tomorrow? Giving police powers is easy. Taking them away is not.
