Will they stop you taking pictures like this in London?
During the incredible few days of snow this month I went for a wander in St James's park armed with my camera. Amongst the myriad snowmen, dog walkers and - believe it or not - skiers who were the principal targets of my snapping, I took a nice shot of two policemen walking towards Buckingham Palace. Had the snow come a couple of weeks later, I might well have just broken the law.
You see, from 16th February anyone taking photographs of policemen or soldiers could be viewed as committing a criminal offence. Tourists: better think twice now about catching the Changing of the Guard or the iconic British bobby on film.
The reason for this confusion is the implementation of Section 76 of the 2008 Counter Terrorism Act which criminalises (with a punishment of up to 10 years in prison) anyone "eliciting, publishing or communicating information" relating to past or present members of the armed forces, intelligence services and police officers, which is "likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism".
Professional photographers are up in arms about the whole charade: not that it will curtail their moonlighting for al-Qaeda but that police will no doubt use the law as a way of suppressing evidence. Consequently, more than 200 snappers convened at New Scotland Yard on the day the law came into force to take pictures of the fuzz in what they saw as a demonstration of their simple right.
But it's not just the professionals who could be affected. In today's iWorld of digital mastery, everyone has at least a camera phone and the capacity to "publish" their snaps on blogs or social networking sites such as Flickr and Facebook.
In short, the new law could have a huge impact on our freedom of taking photographs in London. I have already mentioned the traditional policemen and the bearskins of the Irish Guards, but the possibilities do not stop there. What about the Tower of London's famous 'Beefeater' Yeoman Wardens, all of whom are retired from the British Armed Forces? Or the policemen on horseback in Hyde Park? Or pop singer Sting?!
There are implications for sporting events, too. Football games require a strong police presence, while the 2012 Olympics will no doubt be heavily patrolled precisely because of the enormous scope for terrorism. Are we really going to impose a photography ban on the thousands of sporting fans who will flock to London for the Games from all around the world?
Will I, a law abiding 27 year old, put one foot in prison by posting online pictures of my friends James and Alex - a soldier and a policeman respectively? And supposing James tells me in good faith that he's going back to serve a term of duty in Iraq - and then I absent-mindedly "publish" this information on Facebook, whereby alerting potential extremists (of which there are so many amongst my friends) to this change of UK foreign policy? Such a disclosure is "likely to be useful" in inciting a potential act of terrorism, but can hardly amount to a plot.
The storm sees the principles of one's civil liberties on one side pitted against the protection of national welfare and safety on the other. It's interesting to note that many people don't appreciate that it was technically illegal to take photos in airports and the Underground prior to 16th February. I made the mistake of taking my digital SLR to the new Terminal 5 at Heathrow last year and was accosted by two officers and forced to delete the photos in front of their eyes. And yet days later I was taking pictures of Moscow airport, sans souci, while a year previously I snapped a whole group of willing Gendarmes while watching the Tour de France.
We can go round in circles arguing the cases for and against but sometimes it helps to simplify things. From a personal viewpoint, I am not really in the habit of photographing policemen or soldiers in the UK and if I did, I'm confident that I would be cleared of any terroristic wrongdoing.
I also can't see Beefeaters or the Irish Guards causing too much fuss and forcing tourists to delete their memory cards, while many policemen have already said they will cast a blind eye. Those who are in line to suffer are professional photographers covering rallies or demonstrations for whom it is largely unavoidable to photograph men in uniform.
The law obviously brings about a whole grey area which will no doubt cause a few confrontations, but if we're talking about protecting national security at a time when any attack would be crippling then it's for the better. If this can prevent another 7/7 then surely it's a good thing, despite its confusion, and in reality, I imagine very little will change. I just wouldn't recommend any Brazilian (or bearded) tourists take pictures of policemen on Stockwell tube, that's all.
A City Climb
After a bit of a polish to its golden orb, The Monument has reopened to the public so we can now all pant our way up its 311 steps to look out over the City. Restoration work is carried out on the structure every 100 years or so to keep it in tiptop shape; the last time being in 1888. Christopher Wren and Robert Hooke designed The Monument to commemorate the Great Fire of London in 1666 and it stands proud as the world's highest isolated stone column at 61 metres. Worth a peek from the top!
A Libretto from The Sun
Shock, horror probe – the Royal Opera House does low culture! Is this a move to entice a new audience of tabloid readers through its hallowed doors or do opera's bigwigs really think they can turn the sensationalised story of the late glamour model Anna Nicole Smith's marriage to a rich – very rich actually – businessman into a tragic love story? The kind usually gracing the prestigious Covent Garden stage? It would seem so. "It's not going to be a horrible, sleazy evening", said director of opera Elaine Padmore. Oh, you do disappoint!
A Drop in the Ocean at Chelsea
While the rest of London looks forward to the next 2-for-1 voucher at Pizza Express, Chelsea Football Club did not seem overly concerned with a loss of £65.7 million for the last financial year. It would seem that the words 'credit' and 'crunch' are not overly familiar to the likes of chief exec Peter Kenyon and if star players John Terry and Frank Lampard had to shave a couple of quid of their expenses, it probably wouldn't be too much of a strain. Still, the club's loss is around £9 million less than it was last year so perhaps Abramovich is encouraging a little belt tightening - although hefty payouts to sacked managers can't help matters much.
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