Stranger than dreaming

It has been another strange week. What with the Met being praised by Dwayne Brooks for the latest investigation into the Stephen Lawrence murder and GMP told it had done a great job by the Coronation Street star accused of sexual offences against a child, I had to pinch myself to make sure I was awake.

I really thought I was dreaming when the Government suggested following Scotland’s lead and advised us to have two days off alcohol each week. Most of our commanders would probably request that was Friday and Saturday. However, I am not sure we really want Scotland’s record on alcohol. After spending New Year at an Edinburgh Hogmanay I can see why Scotland has an extra bank holiday on January 2.

The week only got weirder when Antony Worrall Thompson was convicted of shoplifting some wine and cheese, just another celeb passing through our checkouts who has lost the plot. The jokes doing the rounds about him going crackers next time or asking why he didn’t get porridge for it are amusing, but I suppose he should be grateful he wasn’t caught just after the August riots, a caution might have seemed lenient when looters of other groceries were being handed long prison sentences.

The Met have a bit of a dilemma too as part of the phone hacking saga. How do you deal equally with all victims, particularly when so many of them are celebs who are constantly able to command front page headlines? Then they find that one of their former senior officers, a retired detective chief super who is one of Operation Weeting’s victims, is also a suspect of Operation Elveden.

Tricky one. I know, pass it to the Independent Police Complaints Commission and let them arrest him instead. Now’s a good a time as any to find out how well you can work with the IPCC.

I suppose I’ll wake up soon and the Arbitration Tribunal rejected all of Winsor’s proposals. I can dream.