Is It Acceptable For An Mp To Break The Law

[youngmafbog]

http://news.sky.com/story/1152122/caroline-lucas-given-fracking-arrest-court-date

As this particular case has not been in court she is of course innocent at present.

However, looking more generally (and not specifically to fracking) is it acceptable for an MP to get into a position of breaking the law and being arrested for what is in effect civil unrest? (or for any other reason for that matter)

I'm not aiming anything at the Greens or any other party here.

[Canary42]

Since it appears to be lawful* for the police to kill innocent unarmed members of the public, I would be reluctant to condemn the latter for occasionally acting in the manner described here.

*i.e. nobody has been prosecuted.

[FredPuli43]

Depends what the protestors are doing,LG. A march down the Strand causes as little inconvenience as possible, being authorised as to time and place to that end. A whole lot of protestors turning up and sitting down in Whitehall in peak hours, or in my farm entrance ( protesting that I am against fox hunting perhaps?) would be a nuisance.

[birdie1971]

Aberrant - “... it is utterly 'unacceptable and degrading' to be peacefully sat in the road with your son and for him to be assaulted by a tattooed yob (sorry, a police constable using pressure points as a tactic to move non-compliant protestors)...”

It always amuses me when people criticise the police for actions such as these. If these protesters were causing a nuisance (and/or causing an obstruction of the public highway) and the police constables on the scene have been given a legal order to move them on, what tactic do you suppose they should use when the protesters refuse to budge? Harsh language perhaps?

Having been there and done that (so to speak) I can assure you that it is impossible to move someone without using force of some kind if that person is of a mind not to be moved. Watching the video, the amount of force used to remove the gentleman was entirely proportionate and necessary since he was clearly refusing to move willingly. It is also clearly shown in the video that the police first tried to persuade the protesters to move before using reasonable force.

As for the question of it being acceptable for MPs to break the law – absolutely not. Legal, peaceful protest is absolutely fine and should be lauded but once you cross the line and break the law then it is a very different matter. Like all public officials who are in the very privileged position of making and enforcing the law, MPs should be held to a higher standard than your average member of the public.

[ABerrant]

birdie1971 - "the police constables on the scene have been given a legal order to move them on, what tactic do you suppose they should use when the protesters refuse to budge? Harsh language perhaps? ...I can assure you that it is impossible to move someone without using force of some kind if that person is of a mind not to be moved. Watching the video, the amount of force used to remove the gentleman was entirely proportionate and necessary"

Reasonable proportionate force I agree with - by what measure is the use of pressure points to (by definition) inflict pain proportionate? Why not just kick him in the head?

[Svejk]

Now you're talking.

[atalanta]

As Lor5d Denning said, "Be ye never so high, the law is above you."