Elected police chiefs

Once again we see the police escaping punishment after committing a serious crime. This time it was for causing the death of an innocent man, minding his own business, Ian Tomlinson; previously it was for the killing of Jean Charles De Menezez.

This culture of impunity and lack of accountability is not acceptable in a civilized society. We are heading down the slippery slope towards a police state; similar to what exists in many other countries around the world. Having elected police Chief Constables would at least go some way to creating democratic supervision.

I was at a lunch recently. At my table were mainly women; a varied selection from the cradle to the grave. Like wine, they seem to improve with age. Sitting opposite me was a seventy five year old who works as a painter. She was quite proud of the fact that in the previous year she had gone for cosmetic surgery. Surprisingly it was a “boob job”. She had decided to size down from a “forty four double d”.