By now, many will have seen the video of a PC wrestling on the floor of a shop with a young man called Rashan Charles. It’s ugly, violent, and makes for unpleasant viewing.

For several years, I was the duty Inspector at Stoke Newington police station in North London, where this took place and where, last night, crowds of angry protestors gathered. ‘Black lives matter’ placards were popular and a lot of anger was being vented against my former colleagues.

Cries of ‘police murderers’ were to be heard and demands for the PC involved – and others – to be punished, to face ‘justice’.

On social media, mostly twitter as it is so fast, anti-police feelings had been whipped up.

For me, it was all rather familiar. This was the Stoke Newington I used to work in and which I had recently been led to believe had been ‘gentrified’. Perhaps not as much as people hoped, I fear.

‘Stokie’, as we used to call it, used to be the most socially deprived area in the whole of the UK. Poverty, crime, poor housing and commensurate sub-standard facilities were the norm. Much has been done to improve that situation, that has to be said and recognised. But old feelings run deep, and the speed with which this outcry grew makes me suspect that things are not as good as was hoped.

But what of this incident, and of the actions of the PC? Are those crying ‘murder’ correct to label what they see on a video as that most serious of crimes?

If Rashan had been trying to shoot or stab himself, we would all immediately recognise the danger he was in and this PC would be hailed a hero for trying to save him. The fact that he was -allegedly – trying to swallow drugs that could easily result in his death is not commonly seen as endangering his life – but it is just as serious, and, if this PC knew that, it’s quite possible he tried to save a young man from his own reckless action.

Still from CCTV appearing to show Rashan placing something in his mouth before police arrive

I’ve wrestled with a man trying to stab himself. And I’ve also wrestled with people trying to swallow drugs and I know how risky it is as they squirm and try to bite you. And you know that a bite could be the end of your career or, possibly, your life. People, particularly drug users, carry diseases and viruses like hepatitis and HIV. So, knowing that, ask yourself if you would prepared to stick your fingers into the mouth of someone swallowing what looks like drugs knowing the risk if they bite you?

I’ve known success and drugs recovered, but I’ve also seen PCs bitten, and I’ve sat with a man as I tried to persuade him to, at first, spit the rocks of crack from his mouth and then, as he swallowed them, to stick his fingers down his mouth to regurgitate them. I failed – he was lucky, when a hospital stomach pump did what he wouldn’t do himself. He was more afraid of what he saw as me trying to trick him into ‘bringing up’ the evidence of his crime than he was worried about the risk of dying.

Fanning the flames of violence – Stoke Newington

Wrestling with people in circumstances such as this is ugly and it’s violent. An arrest of often an ‘exercise of force’, especially when an alleged perpetrator really doesn’t want to be detained.

Saving life sometimes can be mistaken for something else entirely. But as angry, prejudiced and mis-informed people jump to conclusions, their anger fanned by others who appear to actually enjoy the attention, it saddens me at their apparent lack of objectivity, their prejudice, their lack of interest in being patient and waiting for an inquest, their assumption that their views must be right, and it especially saddens me that some amongst them are trying to whip up feelings in order to further their own agendas rather that reflecting on the very, very sad death of a young man who has died in such tragic circumstances.

Rashan Charles

So, let’s take a moment to reflect. A young man lost his life in circumstances that have yet to be fully explained. Let us implore the angry protectors to wait and not to succumb to the momentum of the lynch mob. Let us accept that anger and violence never are never the solution, they only makes things worse.

And let’s remember, violence is a disease, a disease that corrupts all who use it, regardless of their justification.

At 6’3″ and 16 stone, I was always going to be a forward. I’m talking rugby football here, of course. But appearing in the front row was always for shorter, stockier lads. I was always second row, sometimes at No.8.

So, when a call came through about appearing on Front Row, I was a little slow on the uptake. But I twigged and, after some logistic arrangements, soon found myself heading down to Cardiff BBC studios to be set up on a link to record a session on ‘The Cathartic effect of writing‘ with Kirsty Lang and fellow author Johana Gustawsson.

As a fan of ‘The Archers’ I’ve often listened to Front Row as it is transmitted just afterwards. But I had never imagined the presenters would want to talk to me.

The photo on the left includes Mark Billingham – an author I very much admire – and some other faces you may well recognise. Kirsty is at the front, on the left as you look at the photograph.

A 6 -7 minute transmission took about 40 mins to record, and included a short reading from Wicked Game and from Johana’s new book Block 46. Sadly, time limits meant the readings weren’t transmitted.

It was pretty surreal, to realise that we were being recorded and transmitted through a medium that had seen the likes of David Bowie, Annie Lennox, Val McDermid, PD James and many other ‘proper’ celebrities.

I listened in to the live transmission last night, slightly apprehensive at how I would sound and what the edited version would produce. In the event, it was ok. Johana, luckily for me, possibly, has a lovely engaging voice with a soft French accent, and she made some good points about writing things down in a way that not only helps yourself but also informs family in a way that you may not have been able to do face-to-face. Kirsty was professional and friendly and, no doubt realising we were relatively new to this experience, took time to put us at ease.

And when it had finished? I chatted to my partner and then my mum. And then I got on with the washing up, like any author should.

Normal life resumed.

With 2017 Bristol Crimefest around the corner, I’ve been reflecting on my first attendance at this amazing event.

As 2016 dawned, I had never heard of Crimefest so when Orenda Books publisher, Karen Sullivan asked me to attend and take part in a couple of interview panels, I really had no idea what I was signing up for.

I arrived at the Bristol Marriott hotel, checked in to a very comfortable room and then went to register for the festival. I’m sure you can imagine my surprise when I asked festival organiser how many people we coming. The answer? Five hundred and fifty! I think he saw my shocked look as he then reassured me that there would be know more than a hundred and fifty at each panel!

First evening was spent with fellow Orenda Authors when our wonderful publisher, Karen Sullivan, took us all out for a nice Italian meal. I had the chance to meet and talk to Michael Grothaus, Michael Stanley, Yusuf Toropov, Kati Hiekkapelto and Paul Hardisty.

Returning to the hotel, I began to notice faces that I recognised. Mari Hannah spoke to me (absolutely charming) and Rod Reynolds (looks so young). Then I saw an ‘old friend’ Michelle Davies, who I met in Glasgow in March when we did our very first interviews together. A great catch up was had.

And then it was time for bed!

Day one dawned. Breakfast – full english, of course – as you should always go into battle on a full stomach, and then off to meet the team for the first panel. Pete Adams (hilarious), Daniel Pembrey (young, talented AND handsome) and the wonderful Lisa Cutts. Lisa is a serving detective and – not a lot of people know – her father was my first DI (detective inspector). Lisa and I had spent the previous evening in the bar talking JOB, as coppers often do!

Lisa and I met up with our ‘moderator’ Caro Ramsey. Caro is from Glasgow and turned out to have a very sharp sense of humour. With another natural comedian in Pete Adams, it didn’t take long before they had our audience laughing. Lisa, Daniel and I simply followed where they led.

The hour passed very quickly, and then we headed off to sign a few books.

Then, a very strange thing happened. At 7pm I joined a large queue of people as we headed for the main hall. There were to be announcements, the Crime Writers Association were publishing the long-lists for the 2016 Dagger Awards. I was aware that my publisher had nominated Wicked Game but, well, let’s get real, there are hundreds of entries and some very talented and experienced authors in the mix. As the announcements started, I found myself chatting to some folks so I wasn’t paying as much attention to the stage as perhaps I should have been (guilty m’lord) but I then thought I heard my own name being announced. A few moments later my hand was being squeezed by more people than I could count. Wicked Game had been long-listed, for the John Creasey New Blood Dagger, along with eight other entries. My publisher gave me a kiss, my phone started buzzing. I was stunned, and speechless. Especially when I realised the text on my phone was from Peter James – news had travelled fast.

That night, I celebrated with fish n chips and a cider, at the Catch22 resturant (very good, well recommended – try the grilled fish) opposite the hotel. I met Mick Heron (Spy novelist) and, as he was also listed for another Dagger, we quietly celebrated together.

Next day, I was on the red-eye panel, the one that starts at 9am, the morning after some people were in the bar until the wee small hours. To my surprise, we had a full house again. This time we were under the guidance of Laura Wilson. On the panel were Sara Ward, Yusuf Toropov, Anja de Jager and a certain Mr James Law. James is a former submariner and the author of a best-selling book by the name of ‘Tenacity’.

JS Law starts the banter…

Put an ex-navy man and an ex-soldier together and the inevitable happened. First he took the rise out of the Army, then I remembered a navy joke, and soon the craic was well under way. What the people outside the room must have thought of the laughter, I don’t know. What our fellow authors must have thought, I dread to think!

Soon came the time to head home. All too soon as I had made some great new mates and met some fascinating people. I was really quite amazed at how friendly and welcoming the crime-fiction community is.

And this year? Just the one panel, but James Law might soon start up a double act.

Not a long past, but an event like this is something I just had to share. Yesterday, for the first time, I was featured in the Sunday Times. A very nice journalist called Leaf Arbuthnot came all the way from London to interview me here in Wales.

We talked about the process by which I came into writing, the new book, the passing of Martin McGuinness and the vulnerable nature of police work, in the light of the recent Westminster attack.

I hope you enjoy reading it.

Yesterday my daughter e-mailed me again asking why I didn’t do something useful with my time. Like sitting at home writing books is not a good thing. Talking about me “doing something useful” seems to be one of her favourite topic of conversation. She was “only thinking of me” and even suggested I go down to the village hall or the library and hang out with the folks there.

I did this and when I got home last night I decided to show her that I had learned one or two things in life to help keep myself busy.
I e-mailed her and told her that I had joined a parachute club.

She replied, “Are you crazy? You are in your fifties, and now you’re going to start jumping out of perfectly good planes?”

I told her that I even got a membership card and e-mailed a copy to her..

She immediately telephoned me, “Good grief, where are your glasses! This is a membership to a Prostitute Club, not a Parachute Club.”

I replied, “Oh boy, I’m in trouble again. I really don’t know what to do, I signed up for five jumps a week… and prepaid!”

The line went quiet and her friend picked up the phone and said that she had fainted.

Life as a Dad is not getting any easier, but sometimes it can be fun.

20th February 2017.

Today sees the publication by Orenda Books of the sequel to Wicked Game.

Deadly Game

I won’t spoil the surprise – watch the trailer here

Kill one … frighten a thousand

– The number of terrorist attacks is increasing

 – terrorist attacks are more widespread

 – Europe is experiencing terrorism of a kind never before seen

 – New forms of terrorism motivated by religious imperatives are fundamentally different from terrorism of thirty years ago.

Modern perception, promoted and, arguably supported by what we read in the press and see through the media, but is it reality?

What is terrorism?

In simple terms, it is a technique that boils down to killing civilians in order to influence, shock, impress, provoke, coerce or harm relevant  third parties.

In legal terms, there is no internationally accepted definition of terrorism. One man’s terrorist is often seen as another man’s freedom fighter, for example.

What is a terrorist? A tough question to answer. Terror can come from the State, from a dictator or from a secret police. It can be undertaken by religious believers or atheists, left or right-wing political groups, vigilantes, death-squads, invading Armies or Governments.

And is terrorism a new phenomenon? Although we are experiencing a recent surge in religious terrorism, the mythology of most world religions is filled with violent images and bloody histories. For example, all three Abrahamic religions have experienced radical offshoots that have at some time promoted extreme interpretations of their beliefs and a resulting ‘holy war’ that included worldwide political objectives. The same can be said of non-Abrahamic religions such as Hinduism and Buddism.

Terrorism is not new. It existed at the time of the crusades and during the tortures and abuses of the Inquisition. Genghis Khan and other Mongols used it as a tactic to overcome their enemies, as did the Roman Empire. In more recent times, invading German and Japanese Armies in WWII used terror to subjugate potentially resistant populations.

Marxists tried to divide human societies by class and propagate ‘class war’, Fascists used race to identify their enemy.

We now experience terrorism motivated by religion, dividing humankind into true Muslims on one hand and unbelievers (kafir) and heretics (takfir) on the other.

Kill ten … frighten a million.

Islamist Jihadi terrorism has become our main form of trans-national terrorism in the last ten to twenty years. But this does not mean that all Islamist movements include Jihad in their priorities – they do not. There are examples who abstain from any form of violence.

Something in the modern world, perhaps globalisation, is unsettling many people and their search for a secure future is leading some to reject the modern world and to favour a violent solution to changing the threat that they perceive.

Kill a hundred … frighten a whole population.

So, what of the future? History tells us that all forms of terrorism will eventually fail. Current threats will fade and be replaced by new motivations and causes.

The current Islamic threat is new, because it is so transnational, involving myriad groups, and there is no specific grievance that can be addressed, nor any specific leadership with whom a negotiated solution can be found.

And despite the lessons of history, our leaders still appear surprised that military intervention in places like Iraq has proved ineffective without subsequent political solution and this has only led to increased violence.

Terrorism relies upon fear to succeed.

If we do not fear it, if we recognise that history teaches us a solution to this current wave will be found or it will simply fade with time, then it will fail, as it always has.

Time will heal. Peace will return.

I believe that – I have to believe it – the alternative is far too catastrophic to contemplate.

Today, the UK saw a result to the ‘Leave EU’ referendum that some predicted but none really expected.

The reaction to it has been frightening. Social media is awash with stories of families torn apart, arguments, and even fights. A senior politician who campaigned to leave the EU has been attacked by a mob.

Some of us simply sit back and smile. We’ve seen it all before.

I think many of us older peeps are more reflective and less reactive than the younger generation. We know, from life experience, that this can all change, economic separation from Europe may never happen, and so much of what goes on in the political world is just talk.

This vote may well act as a wake-up call to the political classes that they cannot just carry on doing what they think is best. It may – and I hope those that think this are right – just be the start of a brave new Europe and a brave new world. But it may not, and nothing may change in the long run, or it may change and then return to the way it was. Such is the way of things.