“NO FACE, no case”. That was the sickening message sent to rioters on social media last week before they embarked on their orgy of violence and destruction.
It urged them to cover their faces as they threw bricks and bottles at the police so they couldn’t be identified and dragged into court.
A proposal to ban masks at marches was first made in January by government advisor Lord Walney.
Then it was sparked by fanatics wrapped in scarves and chanting anti-Jewish slogans, waving pro-Hamas banners and clashing with police at Palestine demos.
Now ministers are considering action following mindless rioting which swept Britain last week.
Policing Minister Dame Diana Johnson writes today: “Do not tell me that someone is in a crowd for peaceful reasons when they are wearing a balaclava to avoid being identified.”
Dame Diana is spot-on.
Yobs who cover their face are not exercising their freedom to protest, they are abusing it.
But nobody should imagine any ban would be easy to implement.
Civil liberties activists and human rights lawyers would no doubt line up against it and the police would face an uphill battle to enforce it.
Yet sadly civil disturbances are becoming all too common in our cities.
And as technology such as high-resolution CCTV becomes ever more effective, so thugs on all types of protest will increasingly cover up to avoid detection.
Despite the difficulties, a ban on face masks at protests merits careful consideration.
IT IS a scandal that water company chiefs are pocketing huge bonuses while they dump sewage in our rivers, seas and lakes.
Thames Water, Yorkshire Water and Northumbrian Water were last week fined a record £168million by the regulator Ofwat for a “catalogue of failings”.
But bosses at these firms raked in “performance” rewards totalling £1.69million on top of already generous salaries.
If those undeserved payouts were returned, 20,000 customers would not face water bill rises to pay for the mess.
The bosses should be forced to hand their bonuses back immediately.
WHAT a fortnight of fun and games.
The Paris Olympics may have got off to a soggy start, but Team GB have made it a scorcher with their brilliant haul of medals.
Tonight it’s time to say au revoir, mon amis.
As Del Boy would put it: It’s been bonnet de douche.
