Boris - Shining with Pride?

Last night I went with Yas to the Pride reception at City Hall. It was a lovely evening with good company, just a pity about Boris really. Now he clearly plays on his bumbling image, but frankly there are times when I think it is plain ignorant and disrespectful - last night was one of them. Friends of mine who attended the LGBT Mayoral hustings told me that he had apparently said something like "yes.....L...G...B....T er yes that's right isn't it? Er yes I'm all in favour of it!" Now he has had a little time since then to become a tad more well informed. Last night demonstrated that he hadn't, it was cringemakingly awful, patronising and frankly insulting to the extent that he even engendered some booing. There was no evidence that he had really prepared for the event (know your audience), especially when he started talking about the Pink List, then kept asking the signer next to him if it was the Pink List, if that what it was called etc. Apparently David Cameron thinks he will "shine" on Saturday, hmmmm, we will see!

Good to see Simon Hughes flying the Lib Dem flag, though he was clever enough to arrive after Boris had left!

Thug or stooge? The police officer on the anti Bush demo - Updated....and updated again!

There has been a lot of coverage about the police violence during the STWC demonstration against George Bush a couple of weeks ago. In the middle of all this is an interesting and very disturbing story.

This was the first demo I have missed for sometime, but in the early evening I had a call from my pal Yas who was there. She asked me about a guy we had both met at a Christmas Party - she wanted to be sure he did what she thought he did - a senior police officer with a hugely sensitive role. He had been deliberately trying to agitate including chanting "pigs" at the police. There are only three explanations for what happened - and you can read all about it in Yas's article in the Mail on Sunday. Firstly, he wasn't who she thought he was (unlikely as he recognised her and responded to his name and is someone who is striking to look at), secondly, he was deliberately living dangerously and for some reason got a thrill from it, thirdly, he was working - this is the most disturbing of possibilities. Yas's article has generated a lot of interest. I trust there will be a full police investigation.

Update: Heard from Yas this afternoon that George Galloway has now written to Jacqui Smith about this. Full text of his letter, which names the suspect is here.

This whole affair has attracted a lot of attention in the blogosphere. I understand from Yas that it appears the police are taking the story seriously as she is being interviewed by them shortly.