Clash fan nicked. Terror profiling finds punk...

international | rights, freedoms and repression | other press Wednesday April 05, 2006 19:36 by pat c

Its so bizarre. THEY still fear Joe Strummer! It might be worth using in some propaganda. Can we be done for humming Rock The Casbah? Interersting to find out that Blair & MI5 approve of Procul Harum. "Whiter Shade of Pale", hmmmm.
pat

Clash fan nicked
Terror profiling finds punk...
By John Oates
Wednesday 5th April 2006

A man from Teeside was dragged from a plane and questioned for three hours
under the Terrorism Act after a cabbie reported him because he was worried
about his choice of music.

Harraj Mann, from Teeside, suffered the interogation after he got a cab to
Durham airport and plugged his MP3 player into the taxi's stereo.

After playing Procul Harem, which the cabbie enjoyed, he played the Clash's
London Calling and Led Zeppelin's Immigrant Song. These clearly didn't go
down so well because the taxi driver reported his passenger to police once
they arrived at Durham airport.

Mr Mann was hauled off the plane to London and questioned. He was released
without charge and caught a later flight. More from Reuters here.

It is not the first time Clash lyrics have attracted the wrath of UK
authorities. In June 2004 Bristol man Mike Devine was arrested at his office
after sending a text message including words from the Clash song Tommy Gun.
There was speculation as to how the text message came to police attention -
they insisted Devine had mis-sent the text and that they don't spend all
their time reading everyone's messages. Click here for more.

Devine was released once he'd convinced investigators he played in a tribute
band.