No he isn't!

You mean the burning of the flags on the Cenotaph so close to the anniversary of D Day had more effect?

NO! Wrong to do it because we're in the middle of a bl***y pandemic, Wollo, if you hadn't noticed!!! Nothing to do with burning flags or D Day.

I think you need to read up on Robert Peel and his principles that still stand today around policing, whilst I agree i to some parts of your post much of it is way off the mark. For instance you refer to the role of the police is to enforce laws to the letter, sorry but that's rubbish if you want that head off to the states that what they call law enforcement, we call it policing that allows officers discretion when dealing with offenders, the police are public and the public are the police in the UK.

To reflect the community there is a need for representation from all parts of the community not just in policing but the wider side of life hence the Equality Act, You are probably aware of positive action and its difference to discrimination if not what it means is that all those that go through the police selection criteria go through the same processes.

You mention the police are an off shoot of social services well that's always been the case the people that no one wants to deal with usually end up being dealt with by the police fact. On top of this there is the Crime and Disorder Act that was brought in by a previous Labour Govt requiring by law that public services work together on certain things the clue is in the title of the Act. In addition there was the introduction of the HR Act, coupled on top of this various enquiries such as the Lawrence Enquiry and many more.

The police are societies bucket for criticism your post highlights it perfectly they cannot do right for doing wrong, if you or anyone else on reading this wants an insight join the Special Constabulary as volunteer Police Officer or just volunteer to assist the police, represent your community practice what you want to preach and try and a make a difference, its free voluntary work the recruiting is always open.

I'm somewhere between Vasty and RWAB view.
A national police force would make a big difference but it only needs to be a coordinated approach rather than a seperate entity. We could be so much better at that.
However, that is actually a small part of what the police do. We don't need gestapo in the community.

Police need to be supported so they are able to stop criminal activity without fear of prosecution all the time, but equally if something like the George Floyd incident happens it needs to be dealt with properly not swept away. That's a really fine line to work with.

"Dealing with the George Floyd incident properly" is still unlikely to happen, as it would require the vast majority of the population to suddenly lose their prejudice (either intended or subconscious.
There is racism, of different levels, across all societies in all countries.
I've yet to meet anyone who admits to being racist but, most people do have some level of prejudice against some people for all sorts of reasons and some are downright racist.

The stuff that was allowed back in the 70/80's was appalling but, importantly, it didn't seem that way at the time.

We have a prime minister that has himself used language which is just totally inappropriate and yet he, is charged with ensuring that we have a fair and tolerant society
There was going to be an Islamophobia enquiry into the Tory party prior to the General Election, which they conveniently managed to move a more general enquiry but, I doubt that this will happen in the current Parliament, if it happens at all but, they were all too keen to play the racist card with the anti-Semitic rhetoric that was endlessly thrown at their opposition.

As for the protests, it seems quite ridiculous to have any mass gatherings that could spread the virus but, many would argue that, in the longer term, this issue is far too important to ignore and as with anything that needs to change, timing and momentum are key, to getting things done.

I agree with what you say Wrencat but just to clarify, when I said dealing with the incident I meant the immediate people involved in his death, not global racism. That is a change that will take generations.
But change has to start somewhere and as a famous person once said, if not now then when?

The PM was following Scientific Advice.

Well, he said that he was

It's just unfortunate that his scientific advisers appear to have the scientific knowledge of an amoeba. That is my opinion at least, based upon some of the absolutely appalling press conferences they have given.

Where did I say masks are "worthwhile"? Trolling? is this how anyone with an opinion is treated on here? Pathetic.

Sorry, what are you accusing me of to consider I may burn down a 5G mast?

I think most of them have been gagged to be fair. Except for the one guy who dared to speak out against Cummings by saying “the rules apply to all”.

Just curious as to why you think this pandemic is fake. Just because either yourself or anyone you know hasn’t been affected by it doesn’t mean it’s not real.

Sorry for your wife's loss, however, where did I say no one dies of C-19. I said the claim that we have a pandemic is "fake" quite a different scenario you agree?
Also, please check that C-19 was the cause, here is what NHS Dr Malcolm Kendrick has to say.

"As an NHS doctor, I’ve seen people die and be listed as a victim of coronavirus without ever being tested for it. But unless we have accurate data, we won’t know which has killed more: the disease or the lockdown?

"I suppose most people would be somewhat surprised to know that the cause of death, as written on death certificates, is often little more than an educated guess. Most people die when they are old, often over eighty. There is very rarely going to be a post-mortem carried out, which means that, as a doctor, you have a think about the patient’s symptoms in the last two weeks of life or so. You go back over the notes to look for existing medical conditions.

Previous stroke, diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, angina, dementia and suchlike. Then you talk to the relatives and carers and try to find out what they saw. Did they struggle for breath, were they gradually going downhill, not eating or drinking?

If I saw them in the last two weeks of life, what do I think was the most likely cause of death? There are, of course, other factors. Did they fall, did they break a leg and have an operation – in which case a post-mortem would more likely be carried out to find out if the operation was a cause.

Mostly, however, out in the community, death certification is certainly not an exact science. Never was, never will be. It’s true that things are somewhat more accurate in hospitals, where there are more tests and scans, and suchlike.

Then, along comes Covid-19, and many of the rules – such as they were – went straight out the window. At one point, it was even suggested that relatives could fill in death certificates, if no-one else was available. Though I am not sure this ever happened.

What were we now supposed to do? If an elderly person died in a care home, or at home, did they die of Covid-19? Well, frankly, who knows? Especially if they didn’t have a test for Covid-19 – which for several weeks was not even allowed. Only patients entering hospital were deemed worthy of a test. No-one else.

What advice was given? It varied throughout the country, and from coroner to coroner – and from day to day. Was every person in a care home now to be diagnosed as dying of the coronavirus ? Well, that was certainly the advice given in several parts of the UK.'"