David Davis tells me he thinks the arrest of Damian Green shows that Britain is now living in a police state.
Here are a few facts about Green's arrest which are causing alarm in Tory circles:
• His mobile phone was seized by police who have still not returned it. This gives police access to his personal directory and texts dating back months. Overnight texts from fellow MPs and friends will be examined by the police.
• His parliamentary computer was also seized. Police now have full access to Green's emails dating back years. This means that any constituents who have written about sensitive matters will have these trawled through by police. Similarly, anyone who has emailed Green in relation to his work as shadow immigration minister will have their emails read by police.
• Police were described by Tories as "aggressive" when they marched into his parliamentary office yesterday. A senior Tory who quizzed the police as they searched Green's office was told: "You are at a site of crime scene."
• Green's wife Alicia and their two daughters were at home at their London flat when police called to search the premises.
• Up to 20 counter-terrorist police were involved in the four searches of Green's parliamentary office, his London flat and his constituency office and house in Ashford Kent.
• David Cameron was informed of the parliamentary search by police as they "marched up the steps" of parliament, according to a Tory. The party believes it will be able to embarrass the police; they recorded the search of Green's parliamentary office.
Back to David Davis. "For five years I have avoided using the phrase 'police state'. But the sort of things going on here is what you expect in a police state, a banana state. This is the most extraordinary event of my parliamentary career."
