In battling extremism (UK) police must "walk a tightrope"

international | rights, freedoms and repression | other press Wednesday November 24, 2010 16:35 by j donaghue

Top UK cop Adrian Tudway : "EDL not extremist"

Detective Chief Superintendent Adrian Tudway, who was recently appointed to coordinate the fight against domestic political extremism across the UK, astounded many commentators on the left when he stated last week that the Islamophobic English Defence League is not an extremist organization.

In making his assessment of the Islamophobic group the top cop acknowledged that “those bent on violence” may be using the EDL’s rhetoric to justify attacks on the group when it exercises its right to march through areas with sizeable Muslim populations. He stressed however that the police must act as moderators in such situations to uphold such constitutional rights as the freedom of speech and assembly. Speaking of attempts to disrupt the EDL marches , Det Chief Superintendent Tudway said investigators must walk a "tightrope" as they target the small minority willing to damage the ability of everyone else to make their voices heard.
http://www.morningstaronline.co.uk/index.php/news/conte...98004