(no subject)

Commons Speaker Michael Martin, now Lord Martin of Springburn, interrupted the progress of the Parliament Square (Management) Bill, due to go through on the nod, to stress that the Bill should strengthen powers to bar protesters from Parliament's environs and keep them looking neat. This seemed slightly redundant, as the entire purpose of the Bill is to strengthen powers to bar protesters from Parliament's environs and keep them looking neat. Lord Martin had already complained about the persistent failures in the past to evict Brian Haw, and then he said these actual words, with actual people listening to them:

Lord Martin of Springburn: We even had those who called themselves the Tamil Tigers and held hunger strikes, not only on the pavement but on the square itself, which meant that anyone who wanted to visit the beautiful memorials to people like Abraham Lincoln, Nelson Mandela and Lloyd George could not do so.

The noble Lord is quite right. If there's one thing Nelson Mandela would never stand for, it's someone protesting and risking their very existence for their beliefs, let alone on a nicely tended lawn.