Tom Griffin (London, OK): Politics.co.uk asked last week whether Britain is a police state. Editor Ian Dunt's thoughtful analysis concludes that we are not there yet, but many of the site's readers apparently disagree.
At least we are not alone in Europe. One correspondent of Newropeans magazine is asking the same question about France after this experience:
I’m teaching a lesson when all of a sudden, without warning, four determined policemen irrupt in my classroom, accompanied by a sniffer dog-handler and his animal. No one says hello, no one introduces himself. With no further preamble, the dog is sent throughout the classroom. The pupils are utterly startled. I question the intruders, asking how such a procedure is possible in this place, no one replies. As I insist, I’m being told that I’d rather shut up.
