More on policing and sceptics
May 3, 2010
Bishop Hill in Climate: CRU, Climate: McIntyre

Some interesting developments on the involvement of various high-powered police units in the UEA investigation.

First up, Steve McIntyre reports in the comments to the earlier thread that he has been approached by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police:

Last week, I was contacted by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (the Canadian federal police) who had been asked by UK police to locate a Stephen McIntyre. The Canadian policeman, who didn't seem to know much about the case, said that the UK police wanted to talk to me about whether there had been any misrepresentations of my articles. !!!! They also wanted to locate Andrew Weaver. I confirmed that I was the Stephen McIntyre in question and that I was prepared to talk to the UK authorities - expressing very clearly to the Canadian policeman my total disdain for the idea that this was police business. The inquiry in question presumably did not come from the Norfolk anti-terrorism detachment, as I'd already talked to them at considerable length and they knew how to contact me. I haven't heard anything further yet.

I don't know what to make of this. It may well be that there is a second investigation, although to what end I can hardly imagine. There has only been one complaint, one "crime" if you like. So it's hard to imagine how a second investigation would have got started. It may well be that someone in another police unit was looking for something to do and decided to fill their time by starting their own investigation. But who might this be? Well, one possibility has been suggested by another reader, TerryS, who was questioned by a unit called "Protective Services". The Home Office has a page about Protective Services here.

Protective services include counter-terrorism and extremism, serious organised and cross-border crime, civil contingencies and emergency planning, police use of firearms, critical incident management, major crime (requiring the appointment of a senior investigating officer), public order, strategic roads policing and protecting vulnerable people.

And climate sceptics too, it would seem.

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