The UK鈥檚 apparently overstretched postal system has been placed under even greater strain of late thanks to the Government鈥檚 distribution of some 25 million booklets designed to teach us all how we might prepare for an act of terrorism and/or a declared state of national emergency.

This quaint little 22-page missive urges us to 鈥楪o In, Stay In, Tune In鈥�, offers basic First Aid advice and instructs the populus to 鈥渂e vigilant鈥� at all times when it comes to spotting potential terrorists in the street. 鈥淧ublic safety is our first priority鈥� opines the Government, at the same time imparting details of all that鈥檚 apparently being done to protect the UK.

Should we be clamouring to read the contents of 鈥楶reparing For Emergencies: What You Need To Know鈥�? Given that Prime Minister Blair has allocated over 拢8 million of Joe Tax Payer鈥檚 money to distribute these 鈥榓nti-terror instructions鈥�, you鈥檇 think so. And when you find out that Debbie Spargo (chief executive of the Emergency Planning Society), Peter Clark (ACPO鈥檚 national co-ordinator on terrorist activities) and MI5 supremo Eliza Manningham-Buller have all provided well-scripted quotes, the degree of credence is raised above the bar set by your average Westminster 鈥榤ailer鈥�.

However, isn鈥檛 it a tad rich of the Government to be spending what many would construe an obscene amount of money on delivering advice that amounts to no more than basic common sense when, at the same time, the Royal Navy, Royal Air Force and the Army have had to grin and bear swathes of financial cutbacks?

As Steve Goodwin MBE rightly points out in this month鈥檚 Opinion (鈥楢re we really 鈥楽poilt Brits鈥�?, pp13-14), no less than 12 war ships and two submarines are to be axed over the next few years. In line with this financial prudency 鈥� or should that be stupidity? 鈥� the Home Office has also shelved plans, for example, to accommodate Essex Police鈥檚 demands for patrol vessels covering the Thames Estuary. Vessels which would have been used to clamp down on the influx of illegal immigrants, would-be terrorists and drug traffickers.

While the Government continues to ignore the porosity of our national borders we鈥檒l never be safe. The latest booklet is all smoke and mirrors. Spin replacing substance. We鈥檒l obviously have to wait for an atrocity on the scale of 9/11 before our political masters wake up and smell the coffee.

Brian Sims, Editor

Source

SMT