In which London can be a not fun place to live sometimes

I wrote to my constituency MP. I've never done that before. I don't know if it's a useful thing to do, but it was fun. I guess it's slightly less pointless than voting.

Dear Tessa Jowell,

Given the evidently excessive use of force by the police during the "G20" protests at Bank three weeks ago -- not just from individual officers, but from the basic design of the police operation -- I am moved to add my voice to those who have expressed concern regarding police accountability, and specifically regarding provisions in the recent Counter Terrorism Act, which I understand you voted for.

Many -- most -- of the details of that day which have so far emerged are only available to us because the crowd was packed with press photographers, because London is populated by many tens of thousands of hobbyist photographers, and, most of all, because of the now ubiquitous cameraphone. This event highlights not just the need for police accountability, but the fact that it is ordinary members of the public who make police accountability possible. Any development which obstructs, or which could be used to obstruct, ordinary members of the public who find it their duty to record abuse of police power would be very disturbing.

I do not especially fear that the Counter Terrorism Act will lead to gross miscarriages of justice against professional or amateur photographers -- that is possible, but I suspect unlikely. Rather, the provisions in the act, by adding further complexity and uncertainty about what is and is not legal, enable the petty miscarriages of justice that have become rife and which make the police an intimidating presence in this city today. The cost of this law is the photojournalist who is obstructed from an important public-interest story while detained "under suspicion", the ordinary members of the public, and even tourists, who are stop-and-searched for engaging in their hobby (as I was in Crystal Palace park last year), and the photographer who simply gives up because the fun has been taking out of being creative.

Those costs must of course be balanced against the need to prevent terrorism. Since you voted in favour of the Counter Terrorism Act, I would be very interested to hear your own views on how the terrorism-fighting benefits of the photography provisions weigh against the costs, as well as the government's reasoning behind the provisions. How will these provisions help the police and prosecution service in catching and keeping us safe from terrorists? What evidence is there that these provisions would have helped to prevent past terrorist attacks, or to prosecute individuals who got away with committing atrocities?

I would perhaps not agree unconditionally with Benjamin Franklin's views on trading freedom and safety. But I must demand that we pay a fair price for the genuine article. In this case, as with many other laws supposed to protect us from terrorism, I am far from convinced that enough has been done to ensure that the prices will remain low and that we will receive the goods. I look forward to hearing your views on this law.

Yours,

Joe