My photographs have appeared in newspapers from The Cape Town Argus to the Crosby Herald, The Sydney Morning Herald to the Southport Visitor, and The Washington Post to the Wirral Globe. On numerous occasions my photographs have graced the front pages of every National British newspaper. I have taken photographs for magazines as diverse as The Big Issue, Hello, Mayfair and Vogue. During my career I photographed Actors, Footballers, Pop Stars and Royalty, people who wanted to be photographed and people who didn’t. I covered murder and mayhem as well as National events. I have done my fair share of stakeouts and door knocking; I have travelled extensively as a Photographer
I have laboured this point to ensure that you understand that when it comes to photography I have been there, got the camera bag, know what I am doing and I do not take kindly to being told that I cannot take photographs, as I was recently.
Photography is under threat from a corrupt and discredited government, who using an ill thought out law, Section 44 of The Terrorism Act to prevent people from all walks of life taking photographs and this has been done with the compliance of a politicalized Police Force.
We have all read about these incidents. At Christmas Suffolk Police prevented Royal watchers taking photographs of the Royal family attending a Christmas service. Suffolk Police later apologized for their actions and said that they had got it wrong.
Austrian tourists were made to delete photographs of London buses by an over zealous Police Constable, again using anti-terrorism legislation. A Professional Photographer was arrested for taking photographs of the Houses of Parliament again a completely over the top reaction by the Metropolitan Police. There have been lots of these incidents all over Britain.
Many now ask how can preventing a person taking photographs help stop terrorism when all these buildings are available for all to see on google earth, google view, google street and a hundred other ways on the web, it cannot.
I blame Anthony Charles Lynton Blair, War Criminal and former Prime Minister of this country. He and his fellow Politicians took us into an illegal war that has seen the rise in terrorism on the streets of Britain. This has been the excuse to introduce the draconian measures that we now have.
Section 44 of The Prevention of Terrorism Act 2000 gives the Police the power to stop and search any person suspected of being a terrorist or behaving in a suspicious manner. This is the part of the act that has been constantly abused and used as an excuse to prevent people taking photographs. If you are stopped on the public highway or in a public area and told to stop taking photographs, carry on taking photographs.
Next time you are delayed at an airport stripping down to your undies, be happy in the knowledge that Tony Blair, War Criminal, as an official Envoy on behalf of the European Union and the United Nations has diplomatic immunity, Blair and his wife, Bury born Cherie, just waltz through airports without having to remove a smile.
Have you ever noticed how Cherie looks like the snake from “The Jungle Book”?
Cherie went to great lengths when her husband, the war criminal, was Prime Minister, to stop publication of any photographs of their children, on security grounds. Then she had the cheek to pepper her book “Speaking for myself” with photographs of her children, who incidentally are Irish Passport holders. His children probably think that Britain is not a safe place for any one with the name Blair.
It was because of these actions by Cherie and the Labour Government that people stopped taking photographs of Nativity plays and children’s sports days. There is nothing to stop you or any-one taking photographs in a public park or at a public event.
Remember when you could not take a photograph at concerts, even that has gone by the way side these days because so many people have mobile phones with film and photographic facilities.
In Milton Keynes a Press Photographer was arrested by a Police Sergeant for taking photographs of an accident from behind the blue tape that the Police had set up. He was handcuffed and held for 8 hours. These actions were later deemed to be illegal and the Press Photographer was awarded £5000 damages. In my opinion the Police Sergeant should have been prosecuted for assault, which is what it was.
There are now more ways to take photographs than ever before and more people are taking photographs than ever before and there is nothing to stop you taking photographs. It is not the granny who is taking a photograph of her grandchildren in front of Buckingham Palace who is going to blow it up, Neither is granny going to blow your plane up, we all know that it is Muslim Extremists who are going to try, but are now too sensitive to their rights.
I would be happy to see every Muslim getting on a plane naked, if it meant that my family and I were safe, but we cannot pick on the one section of the community that is likely to be a terrorist, so all of us are inconvenienced.
The worlds oldest photographic magazine The British Journal of Photography, started a campaign “I’m a Photographer, not a terrorist” the BJP asked Photographers to send in a photograph of themselves in a public place holding a sign stating, I’m a Photographer, not a terrorist, thousands responded, you can at the web address below.
A facebook site was set up, you can twitter as well, merchandise is a available, Tee-shirts, hoodies, packs of badges, mugs all bearing the legend I’m a Photographer not a terrorist.
There have been public gathering of Photographers called The Flashmob in places that do not encourage photography, such as shopping centres.
Now I am taking to the streets, not just me, thousands of Photographers have joined the campaign I’m a Photographer, not a Terrorist and on 23rd January there will be a mass gathering in defence of public photography in Trafalgar Square in London between twelve noon and one p.m. If you want to protect your right to take photographs, support this gathering or go out on Saturday 23rd and take photographs, it is your right and we need to fight to keep that right.
See you in Trafalgar Square and bring your camera.
http://photographernotaterrorist.org/
These are my views and not the views or opinions of clickliverpool.com
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