ben smallman

The Nowak scandal exposes a deeper culture that runs through policing and politics alike: the instinct to pathologise public anger rather than confront institutional wrongdoing. The Home Secretary talks about a “dangerous undercurrent” of commentary, as though the real threat is people being furious that a dying teenager was treated as a perpetrator, not a victim. The PCC frets about “police morale” and “online abuse”, as if the reputational harm from criticism is worse than the moral harm of leaving Boon in charge. And Hampshire’s leadership, instead of accepting the obvious — that handcuffing a mortally wounded boy and then trying to control the narrative is indefensible — doubles down on PR. This isn’t policing in the public interest; it’s a political class circling the wagons around its own. If you agree please share and support my work in holding labour to account.