Most of my non-British friends are stunned when I tell them that the UK police are permitted, by statute, to stop and search any person at will.
At. Will.
This is not the well recognised powers of the police to stop and search a person whom the officer believes is actually doing something illegal at that moment.
It is not even the power to stop and search you if they don’t like the look of you. They need no reason at all.
Originally, these powers were brought in to fight the IRA but they have been mostly used to harass the Asian and black communities.
However, reason prevailed yesterday when the EU Court of Human Rights ruled the practise as illegal.
Does this stop it? Not quite yet – enforcing an ECHR decision in the UK can be tricky if the government is determined to fight it. But stayed tuned.