Poliblogger had an interesting end to Labour Party Conference – after the success of the Still Human Still Here meeting he found himself suspected of an attempted assassination of the Prime Minister!

Poliblogger was minding his own business near Bournemouth Pier, on a personal phone call.  It was a bit cold on the seafront at 10 o’clock in the evening, so pacing and covering of extremities was essential.

Out of the corner of his eye, your humble Poliblogger saw a cortege of black cars pull up at the other side of the pier, and the next thing he was approached by a policeman.  “Excuse me, Sir.  Please withdraw your hand from your coat slowly, and keep both hands where I can see them – I am going to have to search you.”

One bag and body search (though thank goodness, not a cavity search) later, he explained that I had been acting suspiciously and that as the Prime Minister was a matter of yards away he had no choice.  “With your hand inside your coat like that you look like you might be about to draw a gun – and the PM’s guys in the cortege over there will be getting twitchy.”

Eventually he let me go, before noting my address and who I work for – good job the Refugee Council isn’t a proscribed organisation… at least not yet!

I then went to the ippr reception to mingle with MPs, advisers and other lobbyists.  As luck would have it, I bumped into one of Gordon’s policy advisers in there, and once I had managed to convince him that I bore no ill-will towards his boss, managed to get over some of the Refugee Council’s key concerns about destitution.  And for good measure, I added some thoughts about the treatment of those stopped and searched by the police…