A United Kingdom police force has apologized for tracking the identity of newsstand patrons who purchased the commemorative Charlie Hebdo cover featuring the Prophet Mohammad. (RELATED: BBC: Don’t Call Charlie Hebdo Attackers ‘Terrorists,’ Because That’s A ‘Loaded Word’)
The scandal was uncovered when a Wiltshire woman wrote The Guardian about a troubling incident. “I asked my helpful newsagents to obtain a copy of the edition of Charlie Hebdo issued after the dreadful massacre in Paris, if indeed a copy was ever available in north Wiltshire,” said 77-year-old Anne Keat, “However, two days later a member of Her Majesty’s police service visited said newsagent, requesting the names of the four customers who had purchased Charlie Hebdo.”
The Wiltshire police confirmed that the incident did occur: “Following the terrorism incident in Paris, France on 7 January 2015, Wiltshire police undertook an assessment of community tensions across the county. As part of this work, local sector policing teams were asked to be mindful of business premises, in particular newsagents who may be distributing the Charlie Hebdo magazine and to consider that these shops may be vulnerable.” (RELATED: Scottish Police Now Monitoring Social Media For ‘Offensive Comments’)
While the police stood by their investigation of “community tensions,” they apologized for seeking out the names of patrons. “Wiltshire police would like to apologise to the members of public who may be affected by this. Information relating to this specific incident has been permanently and securely disposed of.”
[h/t The Guardian]