General   (General discussion, talk about anything.)

Some people won't like this, nevertheless, here goes.

Post Office Investigations Branch is the oldest of all criminal investigation agencies: far older than police CID or military SIB. It has draconian powers, (Like Customs and excise have) along with the ability to harness the full power of the state to back up and protect it.

Historically, it contributed to the confidence we could have in the Post Office. Until fairly recent times, we saw very little mail theft, little wire fraud, (as illustrated, albeit set up, in movie 'The Sting') and until someone leaked the telephone conversations of the Royal Family, forty some years back, breaches of privacy/confidentiality in our telecoms was almost unheard of. (If you are aware of the history of Strowger, you will know this was not necessarily so in other countries.)

I would love to know when things started to go wrong, as clearly they have done.

This story shows what happens if you permit the full power of the state to bear upon citizens without due process or the constitutional checks and balances limiting such abuse of power. Where does sovereignty lie, when such an organisation acts "in contempt of parliament", but its leader in charge of a cover up is awarded a CBE?

Some people on this site were cheering Boris on when he announced his intention of promoting his government's ability to be unhampered by such constitutional checks and balances. To do so is in the manifesto of our current government.

Had Covid not thwarted this government's business, we might all be living in a more Putinist state by now.

POWER CORRUPTS. DO NOT PERMIT IT TO BE CONCENTRATED IN WAYS THAT ARE BEYOND OUR ABILITY TO CHALLENGE!