Digging a bit deeper, it appears that ministers were genuinely clueless - apparently Special Branch (who fall under the counter-terrorism unit for some reason) were called in by the Head of the Cabinet Office, rather than by ministers.
So it's looking more like massive clunking incompetence rather than actual malice. Which, scarily enough, is a little reassuring.
Still doesn't justify the actions of course, nor the Government's brazen and shameless response. But it's an explanation.
Bookmarks