How the British state now snoops on those who ask questions of it

Let’s be kind and assume that the police officer caught trying to persuade an activist to spy on Cambridge University students who might be moved to protest, wasn’t the sharpest tool in the box. For this is indeed the stuff of comedy. A officer sneakily trying to recruit a spy and not realising that all the while he was being spied upon himself. Once the embarrassment subsides, the officer may at least console himself with the knowledge that the young man he had singled out did indeed have the practical attributes for the job. Only the spirit was unwilling.

But this is also the stuff of nightmares. Put yourself in the place of that activist, cannily lured into entering the intimidating precincts of a police station – alien territory for him but the seat of power for the officer. Would you have the strength of will or presence of mind to resist that pressure, never mind the gumption to return wearing a camera? Citizens in a free society have a duty to act responsibly and to assist with the maintenance of law and order, but this police operation seems to be an outright abuse of power. One figure in a position of state-backed authority, surrounded by the trappings of that power. One figure drawn into a position of vulnerability.

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