42 Days Nonsense

With the House of Lords debating the 42 Day Detention issue and the Government facing a defeat, the airwaves this morning were full of Lord Harris pleading the case for Government's plans.  When asked on Radio 5 whether the plans had he support of the police, he said that every policeman he had spoken to was in full support of the the plans.

Now this statement, quite frankly, beggars belief.  The press has been full of quotes from the police, some expressing support, some expressing disquiet about the plans.

So how can Lord Harris make such a claim?

Either he is very careful which police he talks or he simply hasn't discussed the issue with the police.  If it's the latter than he an claim quite correctly that every policeman he has spoken to was in full support.  But more likely, he is simply not telling the truth. It is exactly the same tactic Government MPs use in justifying bad laws - how many times do they say  'all the constituents I talked to' or 'all the letters from my constituents' support their position.  It's just nonsense and shouldn't be let passed by interviewers...