A Home Office decision to use a picture of heavily armoured and masked line of police pointing automatic weapons at the camera will raise questions over what image the government wants to create for its new commission to counter extremism.
Counter-terrorism strategy will be reviewed and a new commission will work to stamp out extremist ideology in all its forms #QueensSpeech pic.twitter.com/H0ghhdqVqA
— Home Office (@ukhomeoffice) June 21, 2017
Downing Street says the commission is to be set up to “support the government in stamping out extremist ideology in all its forms”. But it will also be given the task of supporting the public sector and civil society in “promoting pluralistic British values and reducing tolerance of extremism”.
To do this the commission “will be expected to build partnerships with all those opposed to extremism, disrupt the most dangerous extremists, and build cohesive communities,” according to briefing notes published with the Queen’s speech on Wednesday.
It is difficult to see how images such as the one tweeted by the Home Office will help foster the cooperation of those likely to find themselves at the wrong end of this particular brand of police firepower.
Indeed, it seems rather too close to the police state in George Orwell’s 1984: “If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face – forever.”
