I was just going to post a link to yet another example of the Keystone cops, oops British police, pouncing on another suspected terrorist reconnaissance mission – a Guardian reporter taking photos of the Gherkin building in the City of London:

When I arrived at the Gherkin at 11am yesterday I was stopped by a security guard as I walked around the side of the building. When he told me I had strayed on to private land, I returned to the pavement, but declined his repeated requests to show him the images on my camera.

Back on the pavement, a second security guard informed me that under “anti-terrorism” I was permitted to photograph or film the top end of the building, but the lower half, which included the reception area, fire exits and security cameras, was off-bounds.

And so the boys in blue were summoned…. I don’t doubt the Guardian’s report for one second, but in the interests of balance, last weekend I was taking photos of the very same building, and I didn’t get stopped. It was a nice morning and I was in no hurry, took the pictures I wanted, and then wandered on, and I didn’t sense the security guards’ bovine eyes on my back. As an overweight middle-aged white bloke, beardless in all but surname, standing around and looking intently at my surroundings, and carrying a dangerously-big camera, surely I should have generated suspicion? I could have been a nice big tick mark on the day’s quota of successful anti-terrorist action….

It’s the inconsistency, the random stupidity that really irritates. Why the hell should I have been going for a lawful Sunday morning stroll expecting a confrontation with brain dead security or box ticking cops who don’t know the law they’re so eager to enforce? January 23rd’s demo can’t come soon enough.

Update: this week’s successful counter-terrorist swoops: