Bernadette Spofforth was not exactly a household name until, that is, she was arrested and spent thirty-six hours in a police cell charged with fomenting the Autumn riots, the “Far right thuggery” as our Prime Minister called it, that erupted in Southport, London and other cities throughout England. She was given bail on the condition that she did not speak to the press or make any comment on-line and it is only now, when the charge was dropped for want of sufficient evidence, that her story has been heard.

Her account of what happened is quite disturbing. The crime was sharing inaccurate information on the identity of the preparator on-line. She copied and pasted fake information with her own words “if this is true, there will be all hell to pay”.  She said she was distracted that day, quite angry at the possibility of another tragedy linked to mental health. She hadn’t, however, checked the source, deleted the tweet soon afterwards and apologised for it. It was the account of her arrest and time in police cell that was most troubling.

Why she would be treated to a full-blown offensive by the law, five police officers, two cars and a police van arriving at her door with the rigours and humiliation of being searched, and left for a day and a half in a concrete cell, unable to be in touch with her family of friends, is beyond belief. She was allowed one book and her first thought was to take her bible, but decided against it, she now thinks that was silly and regrets it. But she feared it would be used as evidence, against her, that she was “far right”. That was only her perception, but it gives some indication of the insane place we have come to

Many people are arrested and spend time in police cells for longer and under harsher conditions. People who commit crimes must have this already factored this into their minds, as must those who go on protest marches and public disorders, blocking roads etc. They must be aware, depending on how it goes, that being arrested could go with the territory. Some are actively looking for that, to give publicity and to promote their cause. But you cannot underestimate the shock that this treatment has on a regular middle-aged women, wife and mother, because of something she posted. Shock was the result and she suffered terribly for weeks afterwards.

Of course, of course, her suffering does not compare with the sufferings of the families whose little girls were maimed and murdered in the attack. Of course, it doesn’t compare, as she so clearly says, but it is an indication that there is something seriously wrong with the law and how it is enforced.

And it begs the question, why? Was it just that the police’s heavy-handed manner was a mistake and just one of these things that happens? Was it panic instructions from further up to silence fake information? Was it because this woman already had form? She had publicly expressed opinions that didn’t follow the narrative over Covid, Gender, Net-Zero and other doctrinal issues. Was it an opportunity to silence her?  If this was the real reason, it didn’t work because she fully intends to continue what she does. But it might work in silencing others.

Whatever the reason, the chasm between how she was treated for what was, at worst, a mistake with keyboard and mouse, and how others in higher places can make any number of mistakes, tell lies, only apologise when they are found out and still hold public positions, salaries and pensions is a signal that something is quite rotten in our state.