THE function of the police is to enforce the law. That is to say, to protect every individual from those who break the law. This protection extends to those who legally visit these shores and, to a certain extent, even those who are here illegally.
The proposed visit by Israeli supporters to attend a legal football match in Birmingham was a right that should have been protected by the West Midlands Constabulary.
It seems that this authority colluded with Muslim elements to deny these Israelis their right. If the police use dishonest tactics to avoid having to do their duty, they have failed in their essential function and those in charge are quite likely guilty of malfeasance in public office.
There was much criticism of the West Midlands Chief Constable, Craig Guildford, and the Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) Simon Foster, and as we know 52-year-old Mr Guildford retired with immediate effect last week. No investigation, no sacking, no charges; just early retirement on a full index-linked pension!
The outrage that this has generated is very useful to the government and the official opposition. It distracts the public attention from the real ills that created this situation. The question is not whether the very close relations that subsisted between the police and the Birmingham Muslim community were improper (although they may have been), but why were these links established?
Historically, we have a citizen police force which polices with the consent and co-operation of the community. This has worked well for centuries within a cohesive community with shared values.
More recently we have allowed very large communities with different values to become established in large parts of the country. The majority of Birmingham’s population have a migrant background. At the 2021 census Muslims comprised 30 per cent of residents. With the mass immigration of the past five years this proportion is likely to be significantly higher now.
Muslim communities tend to be locally concentrated and are politically active. In areas where concentrations are high enough, Muslims can create communities with social norms dictated by the Muslim majority. Sharia councils (courts) may be established, with rulings enforced by the religious leaders and the local community. Social control is rigidly enforced over women and children. (There is almost no research or statistics to support these assertions, only a large number of anecdotal reports.)
For the police to maintain order in these areas they must, perforce, co-operate with these Muslim ‘authorities’. If they do not, these ‘authorities’ can make their life very difficult.
It must be easier to co-operate with the Imams than be forced to explain to the press and central government why it has been impossible to maintain order in the streets. Thus under cover of ‘maintaining good community relations’, the undue influence of a Muslim minority has suborned our political establishment and some of our police forces.
In the 2021 census there were about 4million legal Muslim residents in the UK. From 2022 to 2025 there were an additional 3.8million legal immigrants, most from countries with a majority Muslim population.
With one third of the births in this country to mothers born overseas and with an unknown but very significant number of births arising from mothers with a migrant origin it is obvious that the growth of the Muslim community will accelerate, and their influence in urban areas will also grow.
The effect is to put the police in a very difficult position. What is their priority? Maintain law and order in the streets or maintain law and order in every sector of the community?
Islam is a very different kind of community from that of historic Britain. It consists of many sects, but that which predominates in this country seems to be patriarchal and misogynistic; it sanctions female genital mutilation (FGM), honour killings, homophobia, punishment for adultery, rape of non-Muslims, and other practices which are inimical to the culture of these islands, and indeed contrary to our laws.
We may criticise Mr Guildford, but we should recognise the guilt of those who have promoted mass migration and ‘’cultural diversity’ without thought to the consequences; that is to say, the Labour, Conservative and Liberal Democrat parties.
