In 2005 there was a Conservative initiative in the House of Commons to change the law on self defence to give greater protection to people who defend themselves when attacked in their own homes. Labour killed with the line that the current law allowed reasonable force and no change was needed. So, if you injured someone while defending home and family you faced an investigation by the police and CPS but at the end of that protracted process you would probably be all right was the message. That people should not have their lives turned over by the authorities for being victims of crime seemed not to be an argument, at least not one the Labour government would entertain. Now, in the general spirit of airbrushing out the past, Labour is back with an 'urgent' review of the law on self defence because it suddenly is just not good enough.
So, what is going on here? Well two things probably: first Gordon Brown and his crowd want to grab back the agenda on Law and Order, and this is a pretty painless way to make good headlines. Secondly, you get the feeling that quite a few things that were vetoed by the grinning one, or his wife, are now back on the table because everyone else actually thought that they were quite a good idea. Well, I agree with this one, but it is pretty poor that it took a change of Prime Minister for Labour to understand how demoralising it is for the public to read of yet another ordinary person effectively being punished by a police investigation for having some scumbag break into their home. Maybe this time common sense will prevail, and maybe some of the smug no-nothings who mouth platitudes a couple of years ago will have the grace to eat their words.
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