Recently in Rome I used my tripod almost everywhere, not inside museums though, and never had a single hint of a problem. But from my Tripodophobia posts you’ll see I’ve had a number of clashes in London with “security guards” who think they can obstruct or prevent people taking pictures, especially if they have a big camera or – sure sign of a bomb-toting religious fanatic – a tripod. Sure, Muslim nuts scout out their targets with big Nikons and Canons round their necks and spend half an hour in the same spot waiting for the right light…. Actually, maybe they do do the latter during the Haj.

It’s as crazy as the congestion charging proposals (rant below). So sign the photography petition to No 10 Downing Street:

There are a number of moves promoting the requirement of ‘ID’ cards to allow photographers to operate in a public place. It is a fundamental right of a UK citizen to use a camera in a public place, indeed there is no right to privacy when in a public place. These moves have developed from paranoia and only promote suspicion towards genuine people following their hobby or profession.

Rant alert. City centres excepted, the recent congestion charging idea was plain daft. Congestion’s self regulating – you avoid busy times or just put up with it, don’t you? Who cares about congestion as such? Pollution’s another issue, of course. Certainly there’s no need to spend money on new IT systems – Labour’s again proposing a Tory market-driven solution that diverts money into big IT consultancies. Whack up fuel tax and people won’t drive as much.