The Labour Party's Annual Conference (kind of like the conventions) is on at the moment in Brighton. Yesterday during a speech by the Foreign Secretary Jack Straw he was heckled from the audience by a man called Walter Wolfgang. Mr Wolfgang (who is 82 years old) was came to Britain as a refugee from Nazi Germany in 1937 and has been a member of the Labour party for 55 years.

As Jack Straw talked about Iraq, Mr Wolfgang shouted
"Nonsense". At this point TV cameras showed him being manhandled out of the auditorium along with another man who had complained about his treatment at the hands of security guards. Mr Wolfgang was then detained under the Terrorism Act before being released having had his pass to the rest of the conference confiscated.

Two points...one, this reminds me of the old Soviet Union and secondly anti terrorism laws used to prevent terrorism and bring terrorists to justice...no problem. Anti-terrorism laws used to stifle debate and freedom of speech as my good friend plaw would say...the slippery slope.

Yeah it was just aweful and I've just seen Blair's apology shown on the Wright Stuff. It seemed genuine at least and he acknowledged it shouldn't have happened.

And your second point is completely valid. I'm all for the anti terrorism laws but the problem with this kind of thing is policing it right. It was obviously misused here. But I don't understand how he could be detained under these laws when it was only Labour conference stewards holding him unless he was passed onto the police.

More disgraceful scenes featuring politicians & the people they are supposed to serve ( not to forget dodgy Nazi type stewards who are employed by the afore-mentioned politicians).
none of this surprises me any more!
All politicians suck!
It's all just a big power trip to them all.....
toe-rags...the lot of them!

I agree completely. Most politicians are private schooled toffs or geeks not in tune with the real world. You know, those that have had 'daddy' pay everything for them in their life or they were bullied when young and now have major power trips. The same goes for traffic wardens and stewards at football grounds.

But here they're not directly at fault.

Or nightclub bouncers.