London can breathe easy again.
The Metropolitan Police have neutralised a grave threat to public safety: an elderly woman with Parkinson’s holding a cardboard sign. Word is she was, “45 minutes from attack!”
In a high-risk daytime operation, five or six officers swarmed the suspect, displaying the kind of bravery usually reserved for Marvel movies. They wrestled the menace away as cameras rolled. The streets are safer. You’re welcome.
Meanwhile, here’s what isn’t terrorism anymore. His name is Muhammad al-Jolani (aka Abu Muhammad al-Golani), former head of al-Nusra Front, al-Qaeda’s branch in Syria. The U.S. State Department literally put a $10 million reward on his head. “Stop This Terrorist,” their poster said.
Now look at him shaking hands with Britain’s Foreign Secretary, David Lammy. No cuffs. No hi-vis. Just a nice diplomatic grip-and-grin.
So according to the UK government’s elastic dictionary, a Parkinson’s pensioner is a terrorist; an ex–al-Qaeda commander is a partner.
Make. It. Make. Sense.
Yesterday in Westminster, the heroes were busy
- Hundreds to thousands gathered in Parliament Square for a silent, seated action holding signs reading: “I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action.”
- Police massed in lines. Then the arrests began.
- An elderly woman (reported as 81 or 90, with Parkinson’s) carried off under terrorism powers. Officers, clearly concerned about the potential threat, deployed in numbers to detain her. The streets of London are now presumably much safer.
- A disabled blind man was arrested to robust applause from counter-terror experts in yellow vests.
- Colonel (ret.) Chris Romberg, former British Army officer and son of a Holocaust survivor, was arrested for “supporting a terrorist organisation” — a daring bust that no doubt saved Britain from the imminent threat of polite, well-enunciated dissent.
- By 9pm, the Met boasted 466 arrests for “showing support for Palestine Action” — quite possibly one of the largest single-day uses of terrorism powers in UK history. Those arrested included the elderly, wheelchair users and the disabled.
If arresting an elderly woman with Parkinson’s under terrorism powers doesn’t give anyone pause, what’s next — strip searching menstruating teenage schoolgirls if you think they smell of weed? Oh, wait a minute. They did that already, didn’t they?
I should note here, although the elderley and prominent at the protest yesterday grabbed the headlines and were prominent in the images, people of all ages and all backgrounds were involved. I would be remiss not to mention them. Heroes one and all. I mean that.
Language was murdered first
It’s not just semantics. Words are the foundations of laws. When “terrorism” is whatever the Home Office needs it to be this week, we’re not under the rule of law — we’re under the rule of whim.
I know this first-hand. When I was interrogated under Section 12 of the Terrorism Act, my statement was basically a manifesto. Out of everything I said, the only thing the officer really latched onto was the definition of terrorism — a definition the government has quietly expanded to include criminal damage to property. That change wasn’t accidental; it was engineered so non-violent direct action (paint on a weapons factory, dismantling machinery making bombs for a genocide) could be relabelled “terror.”
It’s the same trick they pulled with “antisemitism” — change and hollow out the meaning until it covers whoever they need to silence, while excusing whoever they need to court.
And if you look at the people who championed this ludicrous proscription, it’s clear to see why they did it.
Britain today, in one split-screen
Left: a frail woman with Parkinson’s, bundled away by six officers under terrorism laws.
Right: a former al-Qaeda commander with a £10m bounty history, shaking hands with the UK’s top diplomat.
Only one of them counts as a “terrorist” in modern Britain. And that’s why yesterday deserved mockery, not deference.
Perhaps next time, the UK should consult al-Jolani on how to deal with these dangerous pensioners. Maybe he could oversee the operation himself — and bring his knife.
London is safe again. Until the next pensioner strikes.
Palestine Action have a case pending at the High Court challenging their proscription. It will be heard over 3 days in November. Until then, the police face the prospect of being sued if they charge more people under this law only for it to be overturned in a few months time. Arresting pensioners for holding placards and calling it terrorism might not just be an irrational thing to do…
It might end up being bloody expensive, too.
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