Oops!

Following on from the ECHR ruling regarding section 44 Stop and Search and Human Rights (read it in full here) this latest reported UK High Court ruling probably isn't good news for either the security forces or the police - because they know there have been incidences of children carrying really horrible things that can hurt not only children but also grown ups.

The stop and search of 11-year-old twins at the Kingsnorth Climate Camp was unlawful, Kent police have admitted at London's High Court.

The twins, referred to as E and T, were searched while at a demonstration against Kingsnorth coal-fired power station in August 2008

Officers searched the twins on the grounds of "reasonable suspicion" they might be carrying prohibited articles

The police admitted that officers at the scene had misapplied legislation.

It sounds very similar to the over-enthusiasm of those who confiscated cameras of onlookers at Sandringham over Christmas

A security officer responsible for the Royal Family said police were wrong to confiscate cameras from members of the public gathered to see them.

... and it didn't happen quite like they say either :-

People watched the royals go to and from the St Mary Magdalene church in Sandringham, Norfolk, last Sunday when police looked after (my bold) their effects.

Nobody "looked after" anything, so reporters shouldn't try to spin it that way.

People had their cameras and phones-capable-of-taking-pictures taken away from them. They had their property temporarily confiscated. They had no choice but to hand them over to the Police - and this was on the one day of the year that the Sandringham Estate relaxes the no-photography rules - because it's Christmas.

Their cameras were then sealed in plastic bags and guarded by Police to make absolutely sure they couldn't be used. It says so in the Mail here and here.

And in case you think the Mail was being a bit over-enthusiastic in it's reporting, Amateur Photographer also carries a report - here.