Banned for thinking?

Jacqui Smith has been popping up all over the TV screens this morning talking about why she thinks it's OK to ban certain people from the UK. Now on the surface, I may say well done to her, but then I had a further thought process and it doesn't seem so clever after all. Ms Smith is well placed to judge others for thoughts. It's the actions of people that count. And from her recent actions we know she is not so keen to adhere to all the standards of decency she is now trying to uphold.

I don't hold much time for the Muslim Council of Britain as I do not believe it is a truly representative body. However, one can always agree at times with those that we may often disagree with. Inayat Bunglawala of the MCB says what is absolutely right for me. He says, "If they step over the line and break the law, it's at that moment the law should be enacted, not beforehand. If people are keeping their odious views to themselves, that's their business. We should not be in the business of policing people's minds." Could not agree more!

These are odious views but then some people do have them. The UK has laws which should be obeyed by all entering the country. Some years ago the government banned George Raft, the Hollywood actor, from entering the UK because they said he had Mafia connections. The same was said by others of Frank Sinatra, but he was never banned.

I am concerned by the tone and implications of all this. The Government has introduced a "presumption in favour of exclusion" which means it would be up to the individual concerned to prove they would not "stir up tension" after arrival. Now what sort of Alice in Wonderland nonsense is that. You could no more prove that than prove you had a dream! It's the insidious control of it all that shocks me. And will it end there? What if some views that are now deemed offensive but not illegal are notched up to the banning level? Already the New Labour regime has tried to control the Christian Church over gay adoption, same-sex unions, and other issues.

Maybe we should have extra controls fitted at airports which can read our minds. "Sorry, sir, do mind emptying your brain over there. A lady from Redditch is going to read your mind!".