Dear Yorkshire Bylines Reader,
Based on causes you have supported In the past we thought you might be interested in signing a new petition to protect Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury, from malign retribution taken by the home secretary, Suella Braverman.
In case you missed it, on the same day that he stood up in the House of Lords and decried the home secretary’s UK migrant plan as “morally unacceptable”, we learnt that the Arch of Canterbury (as recorded in the official notice of his speeding offence) had some months earlier been caught on his way back to Lambeth Palace from the House of Lords doing 25 mph in a 20 mph zone on the Embankment. Just a coincidence about the timing of the two events we’re sure but a worrying portent nevertheless.
The possibilities of how this scenario could develop in sinister ways give us pause for thought. The home secretary has form when it comes to breaking the law and having seen her performance at making the law we are even more worried. If the archbishop isn’t, he should be.
It requires no stretch of credulity to imagine Suella Braverman tweaking existing legislation for example ‘to prevent the archbishop from carrying out campaigns of moral principle that obstruct or annoy the home secretary in going about her unlawful business’. The archbishop needs protection now, before it is too late to ensure his views on government legislation or policies can still be heard.
If you share our concern then join the thousands who have already signed the petition.
Furthermore, it’s not difficult to imagine that occasionally the archbishop could be running late when trying to get to the House of Lords to register his repugnance at the home secretary’s moral and legal shortcomings.
Far from being fined for speeding in these circumstances the archbishop should be granted an exemption, provided he is heading towards the House of Lords at the time and carrying speech notes that confirm his intent to lambast the home secretary’s failings once he got there. Do you agree?
Not only could things get very bad for the archbishop but under existing legislation the archbishop is vulnerable and could be caught bang to rights. To exemplify this, and as a thought experiment, imagine the archbishop is running late and decides he has no time to change out of all his clerical regalia. He just jumps into the car with all his clobber and floors it. Based on experience at the recent coronation, the Met police could stop the archbishop as he nears the House of Lords under current provisions for stopping and searching on suspicion of an intent to be disruptive. The arresting officer’s notes could even now look something like this…
Officer PL O’Driscoll – preliminary grounds for conviction
- Intimidating the general public by wearing a silly hat.
- Behaving in the vicinity of parliament in a manner that obstructs or annoys the home secretary.
- Being in possession of a dangerous weapon (a moral compass).
- Claiming moral authority to infect society with woke ideas.
- Wearing girly clothes intended to confuse the police about his/her/their identity or gender.
- Vehicle contains a weird stick driver claims is a bishop’s staff. Could be used to combat arrest or a lock on device. Not sure how that works yet but suspicious.
- Carrying a book in two main sections (Old and New) that appear to be literary metaphors for a vengeful right wing god being replaced by woke culture. New section well thumbed.
Large posters in boot reading “Jesus is our king”. Clear anti-monarchy sentiment.
You get the idea. The Arch of Canterbury needs our support as do many Arches like him. You know what to do next.
*Ed: Clearly there’s no petition to sign, but should there be?!
