For the record, here is a summary of salient facts relating to the arrest of Mr Robin Page on 18 November 2002 in connection with a speech he made in September: 1. The alleged offence took place at a country fair at Frampton-on- Severn, Gloucestershire, on Sunday, 8 September, 2002. The basic purpose of Mr Page's speech was to defend the rights of countryside dwellers and to urge people to attend the Countryside Alliance Rally on London on 22 September.

Robin Page

1. The alleged offence took place at a country fair at Frampton-on- Severn, Gloucestershire, on Sunday, 8 September, 2002. The basic purpose of Mr Page's speech was to defend the rights of countryside dwellers and to urge people to attend the Countryside Alliance Rally on London on 22 September.

2. The words complained of, according to Mr Page's account in the 'Mail' on Sunday' (24 November), were as follows:

"In case any of you are of a fragile disposition and easily offended, please go for a walk round the lake and come back when I have finished. "If there is a black, vegetarian, Muslim, asylum-seeking, one-legged, lesbian lorry [truck] driver present then you may be offended at what I am going to say, as I want the same rights that you have got already".

3. The investigating officer is Detective Sergeant Geoff Clark, whoworks at the Stonehouse Police Station, near Stroud, Gloucestershire.

4. The arrest of Mr Page took place on Monday 18 November, 2002. Police Officers travelled nearly 200 miles from Stroud to interview him and he was detained in a cell with dried faeces on its walls before being interviewed.

5. An article in the 'Stroud Journal' in October said:

"Propaganda Claims Investigated"

"Claims that Frampton County Fair earlier this year was hijacked by the pro-hunting lobby are being investigated by Stonehouse Police.

"Countryside campaigner Robin Page was accused of bombarding visitors with pro-hunting propaganda during his commentary at the country fair in September. Sgt. Geoff Clark, of Stonehouse Police, would like to hear from anyone who was upset by the commentary. He can be contacted on 0845 090 1234".

[TB Note: Even if true, it is not a crime known in British law (yet)to 'bombard country fair visitors with pro-hunting propaganda']

6. The official Gloucestershire Police press release issued today (25 November) said:

"Gloucestershire Police can confirm that they have arrested a 60-year-old man from Barton in Cambridgeshire on suspicion of committing public order offences.

"The arrest, on Monday November 18, followed a Police investigation into complaints received about a speech made at a country fair in Frampton-on-Severn, in Gloucestershire, on Sunday, September 8.

"The man was interviewed at Cambridge Police Station and released on Police bail pending further enquiries.

"He is due to report back to Stroud Police Station [a round trip of 400 miles] on Monday January 6.

"Police were contacted by a local newspaper for comment after it had received letters of complaint. We responded and asked any witnesses who had not spoken to us already to get in touch.

"Media appeals like this are standard procedure in Police investigations".

7. The alleged offences, say the Police, were committed under Sections 18, 21, 22 and 27 of the Public Order Act 1986. On being challenged about the relevance of Sections 21 and 22, which deal with public radio or TV broadcasts, the Police resiled from relying on those sections but maintained there was reasonable suspicion that an offence had been committed under Sections 18 and 27.

8. The Official Police Guidance Notes on Section 18 ("incitement to racial hatred), which I have managed to obtain, say this (relevant extracts only):

A. Title of relevant pages in Guidance Notes: "Stir up Racial Hatred by Words/Behaviour"

B. The PNLD Reference is H 2430

C. The official wording in the statute (recently tightened up), is:
"On __________ (date) at ___________ (place) ____________ (name of defendant) used threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour either:
(a) intending thereby to stir up racial hatred, or
(b) having regard to all the circumstances, whereby racial hatred was likely to be stirred up".

D. The official Crown Prosecution Service Advice Note says: "Make sure you know the CPS guidelines for this offence before preparing any charges - click on the links below. See public order principles and the specific guidance for using words/material to stir up racial hatred.

E. Points to prove:
(a) used
(b) threatening or abusive or insulting words or behaviour
(c) intended to stir up...or, likely to stir up
(d) racial hatred

F. Notes: The consent of the Attorney-General is required for prosecution of this offence. See also heading H2444.

[TB Note: This means that if the Attorney-General decides not to prosecute e.g. in the case of a non-white person using insulting words about white people (see below), there is nothing anyone can do about it, as the Attorney-General would have the power to veto a private prosecution].

G. Powers of Arrest: This is an arrestable offence. A constable may arrest without warrant anyone he reasonably suspects of committing an offence under Section 18.

H. Mode of Trail: 'Either Way' (either Magistrates Court or Crown Court Jury) Maximum Sentence:
Magistrates Court - Six months in prison
Crown Court - Seven years in prison.
Time limit for prosecutions: none.

I. National actions: Take photographs, fingerprints and DNA swab or hair samples if charged.

8. A 'Mail on Sunday' editorial yesterday (24 November) said, inter alia:

"Thought Police on Patrol"

"If such things can happen to the outspoken and eccentrics now, they will threaten all of us before too long and turn this country into a place where political informers flourish and the truth is told only in whispers. In a free country, the Police patrol the streets, not the minds of the people".

9. 'Operation Napkin'

Last year, Gloucestershire Police set up 'Operation Napkin'. Senior Police Officers were sent to 'ethnic restaurants' to eat four-course dinners and at the same time listen out for 'racist hate speech'. Today Gloucestershire Police's Media Chief 'thought' the operation had resulted in one arrest but no charges. He wasn't sure if the operation was continuing.

SOME ADDITIONAL NOTES:

Imran Khan
On 31 January 2002, Mr Imran Khan, Chairman of the Black Lawyers Association and the Solicitor for Stephen Lawrence's family, spoke these words (among many others) at a Special Law Society meeting to discuss racism in the Law Society, which he and 124 other supporters had called; he was speaking of white British people:

"The history of this country is clear. Black people have been subjected to centuries of slavery, decades of second class citizenship, widespread legalised discrimination, economic persecution, educational deprivation and cultural stigmatisation. We have been bought, sold, killed, beaten, raped, excluded, exploited, shamed and scorned for a very long time. The word racism is hardly an adequate description of our experience".

These words are now the subject of an official complaint to the Metropolitan Police, under Crime Reference No. 6216708/02C. The speech is being investigated by Detective Sergeant Kevin Boyle of the 'Community Safety Unit' at Paddington Green Police Station.

It will be interesting to compare the Police action to be taken in this case with the action taken against Mr Page.

Notes on the Public Order Act

Several people have been successfully prosecuted under Section 18 Public Order Act (or similar legislation designed to curb what people think and write)

UK Asylum Lies

In 1996, two members of the National Front were prosecuted over a leaflet.
One was found guilty and the other acquitted.

The case went to the Court of Appeal on the grounds of whether telling the truth (in this case that Afro-Caribbean people were between 8 to 10 times more likely to commit various crimes of violence than other racial groups) was discussed.

The Court of Appeal held that telling the truth was no defence under this Section

UK Work Permits

Earlier this year, eccentric local preacher Harry Hammond, aged 74, was quoting Bible texts in Bournemouth Square, with placards saying:

"Stop Homosexuality" and "Stop Lesbianism". A local gay activist saw him and summoned friends on his mobile phone, who then pelted him with mud and water before wrestling him to the ground where he suffered minor injuries to his head. The Police arrested Hammond, but no-one else. When the case came to Court, the CPS arranged for a material witness to be flown 9,000 miles to and from Australia to give evidence. She was told by the CPS:

"It's an important human rights case". Hammond was found guilty (under different sections of the Public Order Act), fined £300 and ordered to pay £365 costs. The Court ordered the destruction of his placards.

In September this year, Alistair Scott, from Exeter, heard local Muslims next door to him shouting that Osama bin Laden was a great man and hailing the bombing of the World Trade Centre. Scott challenged them and during the exchanges, one of them called him a 'Zionist pig*****r'. Scott responded by saying: "I hate all Muslims, I hate all Arabs'. Only the Muslims complained to the Police. Scott was charged under the Public Order Act and sentenced to 200 hours of community service. It was the first-ever case in Britain of 'religiously aggravated harassment (Protection from Harassment Act 1997 and Crime Terrorism and Disorder Act 2000).

Two weeks ago, a BNP supporter, David Wilson, was sentenced in connection with leaflets he had circulated in the Pollokshields area of Glasgow. He got four months in prison and is now in the notorious Barlinnie Jail, Glasgow. His crime was write about gangs of Muslim youths in the area causing trouble, which was quite true. Several thousand Muslims have moved into Pollokshields in recent years. The Court held that although he had referred to Muslims, he had really meant Pakistanis and therefore the case could be brought against him under 'racial hatred towards Pakistanis'.The legislation referred to above dovetails with the European Union's requirement that British laws on 'racism' and 'xenophobia' comply with its Draft Directive on these 'crimes' no later than June 2004 (see my separate briefing paper on this topic).
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People you may wish to contact: Chief Inspector David Peake,
'Head of Media Relations' for Gloucestershire Police - Direct Line
01242 276257 or Sgt. Geoff Clark (investigating officer) -
0845 090 1234, and of course Robin Page: Birds Farm Cottage,
Barton, Cambridgeshire, CB3 7AG (Tel: 01223 262181).
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Printed and published by T Bennett, Tel: 01279 635789
25 November 2002