Since the emergence of COVID, and the coincidental normalisation of ‘working from home’ within the UK, we seem to have seen more and more forms of corruption and deceit in our politics. Whether this be because the rate of it has increased during the pandemic, or because we finally have the time in our previously busy schedules to look in to it as a nation will never truly be known. Unfortunately, the abuse of power and negligence for ‘real’ justice and goodness has not been limited to politics alone (thought this is undoubtedly where the majority of it emerges). There have been examples within the police force, in businesses and involving other public figures. This article will aim to explore all of these separate strands of exploitation.
In the words of David Allen Green ‘those with political power tend to want more power, and those who want more power will tend to then abuse it’.[1]
As a woman myself, the case of Ms. Sarah Everard is undeniably scary. Not solely due to the horrorfying nature of her final night and death but also due to the police and (some of the) public’s handling of the situation. For this article, I will be focusing on the former.
For those of you unaware, Sarah Everard was a woman walking back from her friend’s house in the early hours of the morning. She was arrested on false charges by a single police officer who went on to abuse and murder her. Her case was handled in a highly ineffective manner by the Metropolitan police, and it uncovered many cases of women who had been treated the same way by police officers and those impersonating police officers, opening the eyes of everyone previously unaware. Some advice given out by the police force (headed by Commisioner Cressida Dick) to women included…
- to begin being ‘streetwise’ (conservative police and crime commissioner, Philip Allott)[2]
- to ‘not venture out alone’ (knocking door reports from the Metropolitan Police)
- to not mourn the death of Sarah at her vigil
- to not demonstrate against her and her case’s treatment[3]
Not only this, but since her passing it has been reported that sexual abuse and complaint allegations are not (and have never been) taken seriously in most police forces, the one institution that as a country we collectively trust to keep us safe. Following a Freedom of Information request earlier this year, it was found that over 35 PSNI officers (Northern Irish police officers) had been investigated for sexual abuse and misconduct.[4] Furthermore, over the past four years, it has further been announced that there have been about 2000 allegations of sexual misconduct raised against (currently) serving police officers across the UK. These figures were taken from 39 separate forces.[5]
Within the police, there is another form of abuse, one that has been on the radar of many much longer: racism. Once again, the pandemic aided the Black Lives Matter movement in America and acted as a catalyst for its spread to the rest of the world, particularly England. At this point in time, it was clear that information on the numbers and trends that were happening from racist attacks and hate crimes in the UK were one of the most important tools to tackle it. Names such as Stephen Lawrence, Rashan Charles, and Neomi Bennett became household, and their stories known by all. The Macpherson inquiry (1999) that was held into the racially motivated attack against Stephen Lawrence discovered not only the horrors that his friends had suffered, but the lack of interest the police seemed to show in his case. Not only this, but we have known that the Metropolitan Police Service has been institutionally racist since 1998.[6] If this is the case, then one has to ask why not one of the 67 changes to the police force (that were recommended from the inquiry) seem to have worked. Still we hear of individuals such as Desmond Ziggy Mombeyarara – a father brutally tasered in front of his young son for ‘obstructing justice’. He was peaceful, and under suspicion of speeding on the motorway.
Moving on, it is not only minorities that are marginalised again in this trending abuse of power that. The Funding for Brexit scandal involving Aaron Banks was (in my opinion, a shared one with those with the liberal philosophy) unethical and illegal. It is well known that he accepted funding for his Leave.EU campaign from impermissible sources (foreign or overseas funding).[7] Despite his insistence that the money was brought from one of his own England-based companies, it is clear to anyone that this is not the case. This sum was the largest to ever be donated in a campaign in the UK – and so very much could have been the straw that broke the camel’s back with regards to the closeness of the people’s vote (52:48). Aaron Banks is yet to be punished, and much like many financiers during 2008 will most likely benefit from the undoing of others.
Lastly, we come to our very own UK parliament. Every month, it comes out that yet another semi or borderline crime has been committed, so for now we will focus on only the long lasting-things that have come to light. 2017’s paradise papers scandal was one of the most well-known, since it spanned from over 100 multinational companies and corporations.[8] Some of the key revelations from the investigation were…
- that millions of pounds from the Queen’s private estate has been invested in a Cayman Islands fund
- aggressive Tax avoidance from companies like Nike and Apple
Although due to the technicalities and genuinely ‘legal’ nature of this scandal this may seem like an okay thing to do, it is completely and utterly un-liberal, one of Britain’s apparently key values and qualities that politicians should uphold for younger generations to follow. This information came from a data leak; previous to the investigation, this was not on public record. Can you imagine if we had all the information with regards to tax and finance that the royal family and other wealth empires in the UK use?
To summarise, the UK is becoming seemingly more and more corrupt, and the public are equally becoming not only more curious about the on goings of parliament but also more critical, both of which are admirable skills for the population of an ever-modernising society. You can see this in the way that the inquiry from the 1990s was rarely spoken about outside of homes or families, but as scandals and discriminatory trends get closer, they are in more recent decades.
Thank you so much for reading, and as always if you have any questions or opinions, please share them with me!
[1] https://davidallengreen.com/2021/01/the-four-ways-the-government-of-the-united-kingdom-is-abusing-and-misusing-the-law-and-the-reason-the-government-is-getting-away-with-it/
[2] https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/sarah-everard-cressida-dick-police-b1930910.html
[3] https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-56394344
[4] https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-58799870
[5] https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/police-sexual-misconduct-uk-b1935993.html
[6]https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/277111/4262.pdf
[7] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PiA434KMmxw
[8] https://www.theguardian.com/news/2017/nov/05/paradise-papers-leak-reveals-secrets-of-world-elites-hidden-wealth