Cop nightmare
SOMETHING is badly wrong at the Independent Office for Police Conduct.
We fully back the Met Police’s purge of corrupt cops after the horrific scandals.
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But, separately, the IOPC is hounding decent, law-abiding armed officers . . . leaving them having to do vital and dangerous work under constant threat of triggering a long legal nightmare.
One officer who fatally shot a gangster was cleared by the CPS and a public inquiry.
Eight years on, he could STILL face a gross misconduct charge.
Even tackling terrorists doesn’t cut much ice with the IOPC.
A PC who crashed at 80mph rushing to save lives in a multiple stabbing was cleared by a jury last week of dangerous driving.
But the watchdog, incredibly, is considering a misconduct case against him too.
Why? Do they have zero common sense?
No wonder the Met’s armed cops have a morale crisis.
They are on the front line protecting London’s citizens from its most violent, ruthless criminals.
Wrecking their confidence with unjustified years-long witch-hunts is making their jobs impossible and the public less safe.
Chalk this off
WHO in their right mind thinks the solution to football’s VAR crisis is MORE of it?
Do the sport’s lawmakers seriously imagine there are not already enough interminable delays?
It defies belief, but today they will consider VAR checks for second yellows, free kicks and even corners.
To cap it all there is currently a majority for continuing to keep fans at stadiums in the dark about what’s going on.
Endless hold-ups and chalked-off goals are bad enough on TV.
Imagine being at a game dragging on for two hours, constantly interrupted . . . and never really knowing why.
The Beautiful Game would be a dismal nightmare of inexplicable delays.
VAR will only work once officials make unimpeachable decisions in a fraction of the current time — and convey them with perfect clarity to the ref.
And only then if fans at the ground are kept informed every step of the way.
The system is broken. More of the same will be a monumental own-goal.
Boat bunkum
ALL those wanting illegal migration stopped will have got no joy from yesterday’s dispiriting Commons debate.
New Home Secretary James Cleverly insisted “smashing the smuggling gangs” was crucial.
Fine. But no amount of policing seems able to do that.
The key is in fact killing their business model by deterring migrants via the Rwanda scheme or similar.
Pretending otherwise is foolish.
As for Labour, they produced literally no ideas. Just smug, complacent abuse.
Is that really what they intend to offer voters next year?