Enemies Within

From the Tomb, an interesting question: why is the largest haul of explosive chemical components ever to be found in someone's house in this country not considered newsworthy by the national Press? According to the prosecution in the case of David Bolus Jackson, who lives in the house in question, there were twenty-two chemical components, rocket launchers, British National Party literature and a "nuclear biological suit" to wear while reading it. Also charged was one Robert Cottage, who stood as a candidate for the BNP last May. The two of them are alleged to have had "some kind of master plan", which speaks well for that traditional British entrepreneurialism whereby explosive substances and protective clothing are not simply picked out of skips at random and stored against the day when they might come in handy. Intriguingly, both men were charged under the Explosive Substances Act of 1883, which raises the hitherto scarcely thinkable idea that there might already have been laws adequate to deal with destructive lunatics in our midst before the catch-all, charge-a-few, convict-a-couple Prevention of Terrorism Act came along. Even more intriguingly, the story does not appear to have stimulated any national headlines, despite the sterling work of the police in making the largest haul of explosive chemical components ever to be found in someone's house in Britain - and without shooting anybody. Instead, we have the Great Veil Controversy, which no doubt is as it should be. You can say what you like about the British National Party, but one thing nobody can deny: at least they don't hide behind veils when plotting to blow things up.