[Kursk]

Could some semblance of sanity and/or civility be resumed please? A great deal of effort has been put into the construction and flow of this thread and for it to implode in bickering would be a complete travesty.

I'm going to swim against the tide on this one. Please listen calmly.

I feel very uneasy with the public exposure this brings to a member of the Police; this is absolutely not the route for this debate to turn. The Police do a superb job and I do not condone any approach that might affect the reputation of an individual officer or reflect unfavourably on the Police force itself.

A personal plea to Alex: please withdraw the telecons at least; it is in my view an ugly way to do business (and potentially massively damaging to the issue at hand).

Please everyone, think hard about why you are contributing here. There is no need for the bullish attitude. We are exercising our democratic rights and have achieved a great deal. Let's not step into the realms of the ridiculous with this. Please.

And remember, it was a moderator who had the vision to start this thread.