Don't shoot the whistleblower

The abuse of time and expense in our democratic society wherein counter-terrorism officers arrested a member of parliament and held him for nine hours as well as having four different addresses searched, when he was merely protecting our democratic way of life, is a travesty of justice.

Damian Green was doing what he was elected to do: to deliver the message to the public regardless of whether the public, or the government approve of that message or not. Have we forgotten what it means to have freedom of speech and the liberties that until recently, use to accompany it? The number of people in high places who allegedly allowed the arrest to take place is also quite lengthy and thus astonishing, ranging from the mayor of London to the House of Commons administrators, none of who should be in a position to dictate the course of justice in such a groundbreaking fashion.

The charge laid against Green: "suspicion of conspiring to commit misconduct in a public office and aiding and abetting, counselling or procuring misconduct in a public office" is the most warped interpretation I have heard yet of the work of an MP (of any party), and in this case, a shadow minister doing his job, which is to hold the Government to account.

It is important that politicians defend their ability to act without fear or favour, and it is in the public interest that they hold ministers and public servants to account. Any actions that fall short of that, far from being party political, reflect a deliberate flouting of democratic convention.

It is the right of a democratically elected parliament to act in defence of our traditional liberties, and everything should be done to keep it that way.