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Thoughts on the news
13 November 2017 19:03


Three recent news stories that I think are worthy of comment:

Woman arrested in Egypt after allegedly smuggling drugs into the country (BBC news report).

This news story unfolded slowly. First, we were told that the woman had taken the medication on a holiday to Egypt, not realising that, although legal (with a prescription) in the UK, it was illegal in Egypt. OK, honest mistake; should have been a bit more careful; should have realised that not every drug that is legal in the UK is legal elsewhere (and vice-versa).

Then we were told that 300 tablets were carried. Hmm, that seems quite a lot for personal use. Maybe there is a bit more to this story.

Finally, we were told that the tablets weren't for her at all; they were for her Egyptian boyfriend. It possibly wasn't even her prescription.

OK, hold on a minute. She is giving drugs prescribed for someone else to a third party. Even in this country, that would have been illegal

And another point: presumably the drugs were obtained on a NHS prescription – prescribed to someone else. Isn't this fraudulent activity?


Police face legal challenge to delete details of boy involved in sexting (BBC news report).

In short, a 14-year old boy sent a naked photo to his girlfriend, who then shared it amongst her friends. The police were involved (after all, this does involve indecent images) but it was decided [rightly, imho) that it wasn't in anyone's interest to take further action. There is a world of difference between a 14-year old sending pictures of a 14-year old to another 14-year old, and a 24-year old sending pictures of a 14-year old and/or to a 14-year old. However, the boy's name was kept "on file" and now the parents want it removed.

It seems to me that the police are taking a common-sense approach. They have confirmed that they would only release the name if the boy were perceived to still be a risk. So surely an assessment of this risk is whether he does the same thing again. And to know whether he does the same thing again, there needs to be a record that he did it in the first place.

And another point: what about the girlfriend? she is also guilty of distributing indecent images - arguably more so, seeing as it was someone else's photo that she distributed.


Police took no action after pornographic material found on MP's computer (BBC news report).

And the story here is ...? No action was taken because pornographic material is not illegal (you can have your own views over whether it is appropriate). So shouldn’t the headline be "police take no action after no illegal activity found"?

And another point: the radio report I heard stated that it was not "illegal pornography". There is no such thing as "illegal pornography". If it's not legal it's not pornography: it's indecent and/or abusive material.

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