From the excellent
http://www.thisislocallondon.co.uk web site.
Lambeth: The Commander of Lambeth police has landed himself in hot water with Met chiefs after allegedly saying he finds anarchy "attractive".
Brian Paddick, responsible for policing the entire borough including Brixton, one of the country's toughest crime hotspots, reputedly made the comments on radical anti-capitalism website urban75.com.
According to the website, Brian Paddick used the monicker "Brian: The Commander" to post his contentious views.
On the Urban75 message board, "Brian: The Commander" has written "The concept of anarchism has always appealed to me.
"The idea of the innate goodness of the individual that is corrupted by society or the system.
"It is a theoretical argument but I am not sure everyone would behave well if there were no laws and no system."
It is not the first time that Commander Paddick's outspoken views have made the headlines. The controversial softly-softly approach to cannabis possession in the borough, whereby users are let off with a caution if found in possession of a small quantity of the drug, was his brainchild, and last November he said he was not interested in arresting weekend users of cocaine and ecstasy.
Elsewhere on the website, Commander Paddick goes on to defend his policy on cannabis and outline his views on the difficulties in policing Brixton.
"My number one priority is the street dealers because they peddle death AND frighten the public," he is reported as saying.
"I love Lambeth, and Brixton in particular. I want people to have as much freedom as possible provided they don't damage my community."
Commander Paddick is currently on holiday in Australia with his partner and therefore has not confirmed he made the comments.
But he is likely to face a grilling from Met chiefs on his return.
A Met spokesman said: "This officer is presently on leave therefore we cannot confirm whether he made the alleged comments."
Anyone fancy asking him to post here? |
