Even as a Scot I was right behind England at Wembley in the Euro 2020 final on Sunday. My own team—as usual—had been eliminated early in the group stages. For a few days, I self-identified as being English. Now, following the disgraceful and widespread behaviour of some of the English fans, I am glad to revert to being a Scot. Scottish fans did, admittedly, trash Leicester Square. But then, remarkably, they returned and tidied up. The catalogue of misdemeanours by English fans following the match on Sunday was impressive and included: general rowdiness and vandalism; attacks on Italian fans and racist abuse; racially abusing their own black players on social media after the disastrous penalty shootout; and storming the security staff and entering Wembley Stadium without tickets. Apparently, the security staff were on high COVID alert but not prepared to do anything that involved actual security. Listen to the London Calling podcast for Toby Young’s experience at the turnstiles at Wembley. Quite shocking and not reported in the mainstream media.
Of course, arrests were made, and the police were probably quite thinly stretched across the country. But contrast the general lack of policing, especially outside Wembley (according to eyewitnesses) and what looked like light touch policing at some flashpoints with football fans with the oppressive measures used against lockdown protesters, for example at Trafalgar Square last year. The mainstream media focused on the ‘covidiots’ and ‘conspiracy theorists’ and suggested that protesters had initiated the trouble. According to friends and colleagues who were there, for example on 26 September, this was far from the case. Peaceful protesters were stormed by the police and the Territorial Support Group. It was filmed. I have followed the more recent lockdown protest in London live on YouTube and have seen how generally peaceful and good-natured they have been. I have also seen how aggressive and menacing some of the police have been and friends report being stormed again by police at Hyde Park. This is not the way it is reported by the BBC. There is no excuse for violence by protesters, but there is no excuse for unprovoked violence by the police and there is no excuse for biased reporting.
But this is what we have become in post-pandemic Britain. A deeply divided society between those who invest in the COVID-19 narrative and those who question it. We have one law for them and another law for the rest of us, and the police are complicit. This has been no more obvious than in the apparent fact that COVID does not spread at major sporting events. But out in the real world, whatever your vaccine status or COVID status, you must jump through a series of legally enforceable hoops even to go for a pint.
It possibly baffles some people, but the answer is quite simple. The global elite needed an excuse to have their fortnight of super sporting fun at Wimbledon and Wembley. And some such as mad double mask maniac Tom Cruise managed to attend both, as did the Duchess of Cambridge. I have no idea what Her Royal Highness thinks of masks, but Cruise was filmed verbally abusing members of his film crew for a minor infringement of COVID regulations yet was happy to appear unmasked at both sporting events in close proximity to other members of the global elite. Another unmasked mask maniac putting in an appearance at Wimbledon was Sir Patrick Vallance who, along with his best bud Chris Whitty, is happy to lecture the rest of us on mask wearing.
Even the global elite, no strangers to sports related hypocrisy, knew they would be rumbled if they held these events for a limited audience of the super-rich, the famous and the COVID virtuous. So, the plebs had to be allowed in. Wimbledon required proof of vaccines or a negative COVID test for entry. Likewise, Wembley, where the crowds seemed to grow as the games progressed. Fireworks, flares and laser pens got in, but it was curtains for anyone who took in the virus. So, social distancing and mask wearing appeared to be suspended for a while and the government have been leading us to expect an irreversible lifting of COVID restrictions, primarily lockdowns, but also the need to wear masks.
Which brings us to the Prime Minister’s Coronavirus briefing yesterday. I predicted that 19 July will not be Freedom Day and I maintain that position. Prior to the PM’s briefing his new Health Secretary Sajid Javid gave a very articulate and sincerity laden briefing to the House of Commons. He certainly promotes a ‘now or never’ approach to lifting restrictions, but it was presented in the context of such doom-laden ‘facts’ and figures I was almost on the point of urging him to keep the restrictions in place. And, with very few exceptions, that is what all the MPs who rose to raise questions did. Meantime, over in Downing Street, Boris was giving us such a similarly doom-laden picture that I was half expecting him to contradict Javid. But he maintained that 19 July will see lifting of the social distancing and mask restrictions while maintaining ‘tough border controls’. But the Devil, as ever, was in the detail. It was ‘vital that we proceed with caution’; the ‘pandemic was not over’; and that they ‘expect and recommend face masks in enclosed public spaces such as public transport’. Nightclubs and similar venues were urged to make use of the ‘NHS COVID pass’ and the ‘test, trace and isolate system’ will remain in place. These present measures may be ‘now or never’ but remarkably absent was any talk of this being irreversible with ‘no going back’. Instead, Boris could ‘not rule out’ reimposing restrictions in future.
I was under the impression that we had been proceeding with caution since March 2020. What does ‘continue to proceed with caution’ (a word that was used repeatedly) from this point forward mean? Urging and expecting people to wear masks as they will still be legally required to until 19 July is simply a mask maniacs charter. But, instead of the government having to enforce it, that job will be left to the COVID faint hearts, the coronavirus busybodies and self-appointed pandemic militia. The euphemistically referred to ‘NHS COVID pass’ is simply the vaccine passport. Yes, the very one they had no intention of using. Boris did offer us a carrot. If we all ‘get the jab’ then that will ‘allow’ us to go on holiday, but we ‘must be vaccinated’. If this is freedom, then I am at the Mad Hatter’s Ball.
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