On 7 July 2005, shortly after the London bombings, the Deputy Assistant Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, Brian Paddick, said:

"We are content that the security level was appropriate".

Which, you have to admit, was a pretty stupid thing to say.

The day after four Islamic chaps slaughtered 52 people and injured hundreds more, Paddick said something even more stupid.

"Islam and terrorism don't go together," he said.

So says the bloke three from the top of the cop shop in London.

This is what's protecting us from the bad guys.

During Paddick's adolescence he was bullied by other children when they figured out he was gay, which wasn't too difficult as he is a bit on the "camp" side.

He is one of the new breed of university educated, new world order boys that populate the upper echelons of British law enforcement these days:

He's the bloke who, infamously, pioneered a "softly, softly" approach to cannabis usage in Brixton.
 
He is on record as saying:

"My view is that there are a whole range of people who buy drugs - not just cannabis but even cocaine and Ecstasy... It has no adverse effect on the rest of the people that they are with, whether this is the people they socialise with or the rest of the community. In terms of prioritisation, they are low down on my priority list."

And:

"Cannabis does not appear to damage the community like alcohol, crack and heroine... I have never know anyone to commit crime in order to fund a cannabis habit".

Which, if you know about these things, is not just a politically correct thing to say, it's insanely dishonest as well. Especially when the words are spoken by a copper who has to deal with the results of cannabis usage all the time.

As regards his sexuality, la Paddick says:

"I've been open and honest".

Which, according to a November, 2002, letter, sent to him by the Metropolitan Police Authority, isn't strictly accurate.

Paddick had denied the claims made by former lover, James Renolleau, that he had smoked at least 100 spliffs with policeman P. He did, however, admit that Renolleau had used cannabis in their London flat. His lover was on police bail at this time, having previously been arrested for fraud.

The MPA's letter criticised Paddick for having "demonstrated lack of judgement". It also admonished him for failing to inform his superiors that he was cohabiting with a fraudster who was out on bail.

All of which doesn't exactly inspire confidence in his "openness and honesty", now does it?

And then he wasn't all that open and honest when he pledged himself to his former wife. I mean, getting wed just to cover up his homosexuality wasn't a very nice trick to play on a trusting, young bride, now was it?

And before that he got engaged to TWO other girls!

It's not what most of us would call "open and honest", Paddick, old perv.
 
La Paddick also thinks "anarchy" is "appealing".

It says so on his website.

That's anarchy.

You know, lawlessness, might is right, take what you want, society's a drag sort of stuff.

Here are a few more pearls of Paddickian wisdom:

"I am an ordinary gay man and I do things that ordinary gay men do."
 
"There is a wonderful mix of people here... You can be yourself in Lambeth and it's not a problem. You can be what you want to be... I've been open and honest about... the number of robberies occurring the area, about the fact they're more by young black guys as opposed to young white guys." (The clumsy syntax is Paddick's not mine)

"I demonstrate I understand the local community by not employing tactics like dog-sniffing down at the underground station... I won't use Section 60, which gives the police the power to be stopped and searched."

Before we leave this "ordinary gay man" to "do things that ordinary gay men do", I ought to admit that he does have his admirers.

Apart from the legalise cannabis crowd, Red Ken Livingston thinks he's great as well.

Yep, when Paddick was moved to a desk job when his private life was being investigated, Red Ken said he was the victim of an "orchestrated campaign" which was "highly homophobic, intrusive and personal".

He also released a statement which read:

"There can be little doubt that Commander Paddick would not now be in the position he finds himself were it not for his sexuality. Those who have waged a campaign against this police officer are the real obstacles to the fight against crime."

Really, Ken?

It was the politically INCORRECT types who invited all this criminality into Britain, was it? I mean, you have to admit that it was the non-PC types who wanted the immigrant kept out of Britain.

You know, the immigrant?

Those who blew us up on 7/7? Those who mug us and kill us and rape us and ethnically cleanse us out of our own ancient stamping grounds?

Wasn't it people like you, Ken, who always put the foreigner first, who imported all the first and second-generation immigrant crime and hatred of the dear, old Brit into this country?

Wasn't it you and the PC crowd who did your best to make the indigenous feel guilty about things they never did whilst, at the same time, relentlessly promoting the newcomer and covering up the terrible effects that his criminality was having upon the rest of us?

No?

It was all the fault of us law-abiding, white types, was it?

Who should bugger off to Spain and die quietly, I suppose.

Right.

Anyway, Red Ken thinks la Paddick is fab.

As does Lee Jasper, one of Red Ken's most senior advisors.

I'm going to list some of the jobs and committees this well connected fellow sits on. Don't hold your breath whatever you do.

Member of the Mayor's Advisory Cabinet, responsible for political advice regarding race relations in London; senior Policy Advisor on Equalities for the Mayor of Greater London responsible for the development, enactment and promotion of equalities policies for the GLA; National Secretary of the National Assembly against Racism; Senior Policy Advisor to the Inner London Education Authority; ex-board member of the Royal Commonwealth Society; President of the National Black Students Alliance; Deputy Representative of the UK on the European Council's European National Anti Racist Network; council member of Charter 88; advisor within the Home Secretary's Race Relations Forum; Chairman of the National Black Alliance, the National Black Caucus, Operation Black Vote and the Lambeth Police Consultative Group;  Chairman of Scotland Yard Operation Trident Lay Advisory Group; former Director of the 1990 Trust; Director of Development, the Mangrove Trust; Chair of Mangrove Community Association; Secretary, Notting Hill Carnival; founder and board member of the Jubilee 2000 Campaign; sits on the board of the Criminal Justice Consultative Race Sub Group; member of Trident Lambeth Independent Advisory Group; co-Chairman of Communities on Line; Press and Publicity Officer, Interval Housing Project and the Rainer Foundation and school Governor of St Andrew's School, Brixton.

Oh, and he's a board member of the Black Jewish Forum as well.

Not bad for a bloke who built a career out of pressure groups and political agitation, who's never been down a mine, fought for his country or done a 12-hour stint on the factory floor, eh?

Anyway, Jasper thinks Paddick is fab, too.

"He understands the necessity to have a listening ear, and to be genuinely transparent and honest", says Jasper.

"He trusted the community and they trusted him... He's a strongly extrovert character (like Danny la Rue and Elton John) and that can often lead him to speaking without thinking and that can get him into trouble."

What?

How does a man who speaks "without thinking", and finds himself in trouble because of it, get to be number three at the Met?

Jasper also said this at the time of the Met's investigation into Paddick's behaviour with James Renolleau:

"Brian Paddick has revolutionised the face of police and community relations."

Well, yes. I think we'd all agree with that, Jasper, old sport. But did he revolutionise things for the better, that's the thing?

Jasper added:

"He is a tremendously effective officer, which is why we want a speedy conclusion to this investigation. He's admitted his errors. He should be reinstated."

In March 2002, at a time when those who were investigating Paddick were being pressured to exonerate him, Jon Owen Jones, MP, weighed in on his behalf with a heavyweight Early Day Motion.
 
This EDM said:

"That this House deplores the witch-hunt currently underway against Brian Paddick, until recently the Commander of the Lambeth Police Force; deplores the homophobic nature of many of the smears and innuendoes directed against him; finds it extraordinary the Metropolitan Police has taken action against him on the basis of a previous boyfriend once having committed acts the Home Office has now decided are no more serious than a parking offence; and congratulates Commander Paddick for having the integrity and bravery to speak his mind on policing issues and hopes this episode will not discourage other policemen from doing the same in the future."

Those, apart from Jon Owen Jones, who signed this for New Labour were:

John Austin, Vera Baird, Tony Banks, Harold Best, David Borrow, Russell Brown, Chris Bryant, Karen Buck, Martin Caton, Tony Colman, Jeremy Corbyn, Ann Cryer, Ian Davidson, Terry Davis, Clive Efford, Paul Flynn, Brian Iddon, Glenda Jackson, Lynne Jones, Ian Lucas, Alice Mahon, Rob Marris, Chris McCafferty, Edward O'Hara, James Plaskitt, Greg Pope, Gordon Prentice, Martin Salter, Alan Simpson, Chris Smith, Paul Stinchcombe and Rudi Vis..

John Barrett, Alistair Carmichael, Andrew George, Matthew Green, Nick Harvey, Paul Holmes, Nigel Jones and Jenny Tonge signed the EDM for the Lib Dems and Adam Price signed it for Plaid Cymru.

At least four of the above MPs are, themselves, gay and all of them are as PC as the powers-behind-the-throne require them to be.
 
Anyway, here's one last Paddickian pearl of wisdom before we pass on:

"Lambeth people tend to be more forward thinking.