27. May. 2010. – 14:06:37
Libertarians and perhaps many others not so single minded about retaining their privacy in an increasingly big brother state will be extremely pleased at today`s announcement that Identity Cards for all, a policy so fervently espoused by successive Labour Home Secretaries, are now history. If this government offers nothing else to those who are resistant to being obliged to identify themselves to petty bureaucrats and worse it will be enough. But it didn`t begin in this century.
In late December 2008 I was sitting on a case where a driver had refused to give his details when required by a police officer. For a reason now forgotten during this hearing we had some "downtime" and were in the retiring room where on impulse I looked at the bound annual copies of "The Justice of the Peace" on the bookshelf. I chose to look at the edition of 1908 and found the page for the same December date of that year. And there it was in black and white Edwardian prose; the case law where a driver on the request of a police constable was required to give his name and address. Licenses to drive were for the future. A gentleman had been motoring through Hyde Park and for whatever reason refused to give his details to the constable when asked. The case duly reached a higher level where it was decided that a constable had the right to demand a driver`s name and address.
Was that a coincidence? Do we have free will? Will the world end in 2012? Will England win the World Cup?
In late December 2008 I was sitting on a case where a driver had refused to give his details when required by a police officer. For a reason now forgotten during this hearing we had some "downtime" and were in the retiring room where on impulse I looked at the bound annual copies of "The Justice of the Peace" on the bookshelf. I chose to look at the edition of 1908 and found the page for the same December date of that year. And there it was in black and white Edwardian prose; the case law where a driver on the request of a police constable was required to give his name and address. Licenses to drive were for the future. A gentleman had been motoring through Hyde Park and for whatever reason refused to give his details to the constable when asked. The case duly reached a higher level where it was decided that a constable had the right to demand a driver`s name and address.
Was that a coincidence? Do we have free will? Will the world end in 2012? Will England win the World Cup?
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