POLITICAL POLICE

A British Bobby has been reassigned in unusual circumstances:

PC Alexander Omar Basha - a member of the Metropolitan Police's Diplomatic Protection Group - refused to be posted [to guard the Israeli embassy] because he objected to Israeli bombings in Lebanon and the resulting civilian casualties of fellow Muslims.

In a move which has caused widespread astonishment at Scotland Yard, senior officers in the DPG agreed that that PC Basha should be given an alternative posting.

It's just as well he asked to be reassigned rather than realizing in the middle of a terrorist attack that he doesn't want to protect Israelis.

Police commissioner Sir Ian Blair was apparently not involved in the reassignment but probably approves:

Last night senior Scotland Yard sources stressed the decision not to post PC Basha to the Israeli embassy was taken by 'locally' senior officers in the DPG.

They stressed Met Commissioner Sir Ian Blair, who has been dubbed Britain's most politically correct police chief, had "absolutely no involvement in the case".

But Met insiders blame Sir Ian for creating a culture of political correctness since taking over as head of the force in February last year.

One of the first initiatives taken by Sir Ian after taking up the post was to change the Met's log from a handwritten style to a bland type in capitals because it discriminated against short-sighted people.

Next he approved the hiring of 24 'diversity advisors' to give advice on race and gay issues to police investigating major crimes.

Last year he was found 'guilty' of 'hanging three white detectives out to dry' to prove his anti-racist credentials.

Allowing Basha to reject the assignment does indeed set a dangerous precedent:

The case has provoked unease from those who worry that officers may be able to start picking and choosing their duties. John O'Connor, a former Flying Squad commander, told today's Sun: "This is the beginning of the end for British policing. If they can allow this, surely they'll have to accept a Jewish officer not wanting to work at an Islamic national embassy? Will Catholic cops be let off working at Protestant churches. Where will it end?"

Nah, political correctness isn't a problem.

Update: Jonathan Freedland reports that safety concerns may have motivated Basha to seek reassignment:

The Association of Muslim Police Officers says that PC Basha pulled out not for moral reasons but on "welfare" grounds, since he had family in both Lebanon and Syria. According to this version, the constable felt "uncomfortable and unsafe" outside the Israeli embassy.

That would put the case in a rather different light, but still we would need to know more. Did he feel "uncomfortable" simply because he disapproved of Israel's actions? If he did, then that's just another way of saying he didn't want to serve on moral grounds.

Or perhaps the crucial word here is "unsafe". It's unlikely that the constable feared Israeli diplomatic staff were going to beat up a uniformed officer of the Metropolitan police, so he must have had some other threat in mind. Perhaps he feared, as James Naughtie suggested on the Today programme (audio file), that he would be "subject to intimidation and violence" from his fellow Muslims, if they discovered where he was working.

If that turns out to have been the reason, then there can be few who would object to his reassignment.

I fear there's no hope for Britain.

Via the always informative Brussels Journal.