An amateur photographer who has made local headlines after being stopped and arrested by police for taking photographs has been quizzed again.

Alex Turner, who runs the popular blog monaxle.com, was arrested on 8 July under s44 of the Terrorism Act 2000 after taking photographs in Chatham High Street.

11 days later, Mr Turner was quizzed again in Chatham High Street, taking photographs on his way home from the pub. This time he was not arrested, but he still faced questions from police about his hobby.

Mr Turner said on his blog ‘should someone with a camera taking pictures openly in a public place be considered a threat? How far should preventative measures be taken? Is this far enough?

‘Perhaps cameras should be treated like guns and you have to have a licence to own one with tight restrictions on where and how you use it. Perhaps mobile phones with cameras should be banned. Perhaps video?s made in public should all be vetted. Perhaps compulsory ID cards should be introduced.

‘What price are you willing to pay to be reassured against a supposed threat to your safety?’

Mr Turner’s arrest has appeared in all three of the local papers – making the front page of the News last Thursday.

In a letter to the Proffesional Standards Department regarding his arrest, Mr Turner said ‘I was initially stopped by two men in the High Street close to Snappy Snaps. The men did not identify themselves though stated that they worked for Medway Council.

‘I was made to sit in a police van for around 20 minutes, after which the outer back doors were opened and I was spoken to through the locked inner cage by two officers, both of whom were in plain clothes and neither of which produced their warrant cards.

‘I was asked if I would provide details regarding my identity. I asked, taking into account I was now under arrest, handcuffed and detained, if I was obliged to do so. They stated that I was and said that if I did not I would be taken to the police station.

‘I indicated I could not physically provide any proof of my identity whilst handcuffed and locked in the van. I asked to be unhandcuffed. The request was refused.

‘One of the officers placed his hand inside my jacket pocket and removed my wallet upon which he opened it and could see my photo card driving license. He passed the wallet to one of his colleagues who took it away. He then proceeded to search my pockets and pat me down.

‘For a further 5-10 minutes I stood in the street in full view of passers by handcuffed. One of the officers stated she had felt threatened by me when I took her picture. I cannot recall exactly what she said but I do recall her referring to my size and inferring she found it intimidating at the time (I am 5ft 11in and weigh about 12 stone).

‘The other officer returned and released the handcuffs. He put his hand out for me to shake, apologised for the inconvenience, stated that he hoped I understood given the ?strange? times we are in and left in an unmarked car.

‘I asked the female officer if I was free to go and continue to take pictures in the High Street, she informed me that I was; the PCSO added as long as you don?t take any pictures of us. At this point I walked away feeling upset, embarrassed and traumatised by the events.’

I shall lay out before you the facts, the speculation and my opinions, and then allow you to formulate your own opinions on this matter.

FACTS

It is so hard to distinguish fact from speculation in this matter, however what is irrefutable is that last Thursday, November 27, Conservative MP Damian Green was arrested and held for nine hours, before being released on bail. His offices and homes were searched by police. The Serjeant at Arms, Jill Pay, allowed the police to enter Parliament to conduct the search. Speaker Michael Martin was made aware that the arrest and search was to take place.

SPECULATION

It is widely assumed that, if not Gordon Brown, at least Home Secretary Jacqui Smith was made aware of the arrest prior to it taking place. It is also known that Michael Martin knew the arrest was to take place, but that he purposefully allowed it to happen is a matter of speculation – although widely assumed to be true.

MY OPINIONS

I am always loathe to calling Britain a police state, and in fact many important features of a police state are missing from the picture. I also refuse to speculate on the content of ongoing police investigations. However, the fact that an investigation was allowed sets for our elected representatives a dangerous precedent. Even the Broon, as seen in my previous post, has smugly utilised leaks from civil servants.

All Green’s private case files and constituency data are now in the hands of the police, and any number of officers may view the contents throughout the investigation. Mr Green himself is now unable to continue the role he was elected to do because the police are being ridiculously intrusive – at the behest of the Labour Government in a thinly veiled attempt to smear the Conservatives, which seems to have backfired spectacularly!

The bare truth is, though, that Broon has not built for us a police state, instead he has cemented the solid foundations, which no successor will be able to destroy. The Labour Party long ago abandoned all pretence of democracy, and it is us who will pay the price in the decades to come!