New Labour - New Terrorism Suspect...

Meet Mr Walter Wolfgang: an 82-year old OAP, Labour member for some 57 years and the first person to be detained at a Labour conference under section 44 of the Terrorism Act.

The spectacle was a disgrace as Mr Wolfgang shouted "nonsense!" from the very back row of the conference hall during a speech by Mr Straw in which he compared the "rebuilding of Iraq [sic]" with the situation of post-WW II Germany, was rather brutally manhandled and removed from the hall. A younger man who came to his rescue was then equally forcibly removed. But the fun had only gotten started yet.

Backstage Mr Wolfgang was then detained by Police under the Terrorism Act, while a Labour apparatchik tried desperately to keep the cameras from looking into the unfolding drama.

It would be all too easy to dismiss this sorry episode as the unfortunate result of some heavy handed stewards reacting a little overzealously. The incident has given rise to some
serious soul searching amongst that part of the Labour congregation that's getting worried about the party's swing to authoritarianism, as a reaction to the "threat of terrorism".

Full story and video of Mr Wolfgang's misadventure.

Keywords: Terrorism, Terrorism Act, Walter Wolfgang