Thin Blue LIne

Recent events are beginning to make me wonder if the police service in the UK is going to the dogs.

In recent months we have witnessed a senior police chief constable - Sir Norman Bettinson -taking early retirement just as the IPCC (Independent Police Complaints Commission) was about to launch an inquiry into his behaviour at the time of the Hillsborough Disaster.

In which 96 innocent people - Liverpool football fans - lost their lives, of course.

The IPCC has since said that Sir Norman would have a case to answer - potentially for gross misconduct - if he was still the top cop in West Yorkshire at the time their report was finally published - yet the man walks away Scot-free.

More recently a Detective Chief Inspector - April Cashburn (53) - was sentenced to 15 months in prison in the wake of the phone hacking scandal at the News of the World.

This senior officer was found guilty of soliciting money from a newspaper - in return for passing on confidential information about an ongoing police inquiry - which was corrupt and a fundamental breach of public trust.

Last year another police officer - Simon Harwood - one with a poor disciplinary record who had left and rejoined the police was allowed to resign after violently attacking an elderly man (Ian Tomlinson) in central London.

The police were on the streets in large numbers that day following a demonstration, but the victim - Ian Tomlinson - played no part in the angry scenes and was walking away from police lines at the time he was assaulted - before collapsing and dying a short time later.

Simon Harwood was charged with manslaughter and found not guilty - but was exposed as a violent thug who should not have been wearing a police uniform in the first place. 

Late last year a Government Minister - Andrew Mitchell - was forced from office after the so-called 'Plebgate' row at the gates of Downing Street.

Yet the complaint against him now appears to have been wildly exaggerated at least and possibly even fabricated by officers from the Met Police - who are now under investigation along with members of the police trade union, the Police Federation. 

Last but not least is Sergeant Jeremy Scott who resigned from Scotland Yard last week after being exposed as the source of tweets in which he said he hoped Margaret Thatcher's death was 'degrading and painful'.

Sergeant Scott's musings on Twitter also questioned whether a flypast would "bomb" Lady Thatcher’s coffin and suggested that her passing was "87 years too late" before he added:

"Goodnight Twitter. The world is a better place today now that c*** is dead. Now for Cameron, May and Osborne."

Now the unpleasant comments about Margaret Thatcher are one thing - vile and stupid clearly - since the former Prime Minister has been retired from political office for the past 23 years.

But the hate-filled words towards serving politicians (Cameron, May and Osborne) are quite another matter - coming from a serving police officer who was on a public salary of £45,000 - for doing some kind of back office job in Scotland Yard.

Now not only do I wonder how this idiot can walk away without paying any price for his behaviour - what I'd also like to know is what he did to earn £45,000 a year which is more than most highly qualified nurses or teachers get paid? 

So let's see what the Plebgate Inquiry comes up with - because if it reports that there has been an organised conspiracy within the Metropolitan Police - the implications are enormous.